Changes
by i.was.kitten
Summary: The Ducks have almost lost hope thinking they lost the Dimensional Portal at their last fight with the Saurians until the reptiles come back with vengeance, but thankfully a mysterious person comes 2 their rescue & tells them stories about herself, their planet & even more interesting life-changing things. Don't own Mighty Ducks.
1. Prologue

**Hey, guys, for those who have read my original story, I apologize for the complete utter failure of it. I realized that it made little sense and was boring. This time, my character has a different name and she was born and raised at a certain place. (a certain hint for those who have read this story) I'm changing other things of this story around a bit and starting over from scratch. I hope you'll like it better. Thanks and God bless.**

* * *

Prologue

Puck World, once it was an ice-cold planet ruled by advanced people-like Ducks whose most favorite and lifestyle sport is hockey. In fact, because of their planet's cold climate, the icy streets were mostly busy with skaters instead of cars.

People honored hockey mostly because centuries ago, a hockey-playing hero named Drake DuCaine once saved their planet from evil conquerors called the Saurians, alien reptiles who once took over the whole universe, dominating any planet they could find.

The reason no one could find them was because they possessed evil magic and their hideout was surrounded by invisible shields until Drake invented a goalie Mask that could see through those shields and with the Mask, Drake was able to overcome the Saurians and banish them to another dimension, saving his home world and all other worlds.

From that day, people never forgot about him and built a statue of him in his honor, but centuries later, some people thought he was no more but a legend and that the Saurians vanished for another reason.

Unfortunately, the Saurians didn't stay vanished forever. The only overlord named Dragunus made a Dimensional Portal that enabled him and his army to escape from the Dimensional Limbo, bringing them to Puck World to have vengeance against Drake DuCaine's descendants for imprisoning his ancestors.

The Ducks of Puck World lost their planet to Dragunus and had become slaves, but a few handful of Ducks refused to let the Saurians take their home and formed a Resistance, determined to stop the Saurians like Drake DuCaine did long ago.

They did the best they could to make things harder for the Saurians and help make things easier for their people, breaking them out of slave camps and trashing out the Saurian robots called Drones.

One day, a young Duck with tanned feathers, in a brown and blue battle suit, and tattoo of crossed hockey sticks on his left arm named Canard Thunderbeak, decided to break into a Saurian dungeon hoping to free any prisoners and to gather information to whatever could help the Resistance defeat Dragunus.

What intel he and his two closest allies could gather from this dungeon that it was isolated from all slave camps and buildings, so he thought that there must be something about its prisoners that must be important to Dragunus to keep and hide from outsiders.

Canard thought it'd be best he went in alone despite his two friends' protests, but he strongly suggested it was best to send in one so a group wouldn't draw too much attention. Once he was inside, he checked one cell after another from bottom to the top. Before he came to the very top floor, he wondered if there were really any prisoners here at all.

The answer to his question came when he saw the very last cell and looked through the bars to see a young girl with long-red hair in a pony tail whose back was turned to him. He narrowed his eyes to see her hands and feet were tired and her clothes of a blue jacket and jeans had been dirtied and slightly ripped as if she'd been in a fight.

He unlocked the door and walked up to her, wondering if she heard him, but she didn't seem to move an inch. He knelt down to untie her feet first, and at his touch, the girl moaned a bit, sounding like she was in pain.

"Hold on, I'm gonna get you out of here," he promised softly as he untied her feet and went for her bound hands which seemed to struck Canard as odd. Her hands seemed to be free of...feathers and from what Canard counted, there were...five fingers on each hand. And the fact she had nails on the tips of her fingers and smooth skin.

Curious by the second, after he untied her hands, he turned her on her back and gasped in shock. This girl...didn't appear to be a Duck at all. Her face had no beak, but had lips and a nose on the middle of her face and like her hands, her head and neck was free from feathers and she had an ear at each side of her head and tiny brown spots on her skin.

But it wasn't her looks that dismayed him...it was the wounds she had that made him mouth...well, beak-agaped. Her right cheek was black and blue and from what Canard can see through the holes in her jacket, were long injuries that looked like something a person can get through a whipping.

"What have they done to you?" he murmured, gently touching her uninjured left cheek. Did the Saurians experiment on her that made her lose her beak and feathers and gave her ten fingers and nails? Were they trying to make her into a Saurian? And how badly did they torture her to hurt her like this?

At the touch of Canard's soft-feathered four-fingered hand, she moaned again and slightly opened her eyes, seeing her rescuer and despite the pain he saw in her eyes, he knew she seemed confused at the sight of him.

"Who are you?" he asked her.

"D-Dawn," she muttered, straining to speak.

He could she was in a lot of pain. He had to get her out and find help. He slipped his hands under her knees and shoulders, gently picking her up despite her wincing. "Sorry," he whispered.

Dawn looked up at him again and asked quietly, "What...what are you?"

Canard turned to her in confusion, saying, "What am I...? I'm a Duck." Shouldn't she know what a Duck is if she's...? Wait, what if she isn't a Duck herself? "Aren't you?"

"N-no..." she mumbled.

Canard's eyes widened in amazement. If she's not a Duck, then...? "What are you?"

"I'm a hu..." she tried to say, her strength thinning... "I'm a hu..." Then her head hung and her body went limp. Canard was scared what he'd lost her after just meeting her, but when he brought his ear to her mouth, he could hear faint breathing. He sighed with relief that she was still alive and immediately went out of the cell with her.

He kept wondering what this strange girl was and what the Saurians wanted with her that would make them hurt her so. Right now, he just had to get her to safety as he moved downstairs, checking to see if the coast was clear and safe from Drone guards.

Suddenly, he was startled to hear her gasp a bit in pain, shuddering in discomfort of it. He carefully brought her head on his shoulder and softly murmured, "Shh...you'll make it, I promise."

He hoped she believed him. He knew he just met her, but he wanted her to trust him despite she's never seen a Duck like him before. Dawn seemed to have heard him, he assumed, when she settled and rested her head on his shoulder.

Canard smiled gratefully and made his way out of the prison. Actually, he hoped he believed himself completely that she would make it. From the looks of her, she was badly injured, but he just had to try to help her somehow instead of leaving her with those awful alien reptiles.

No sooner was he out when he heard the alarm ringing noisily inside the prison. He knew that the guards found out their only strange prisoner was gone and would look for her immediately.

Without a glance backward, he dashed off quick as the wind, getting Dawn away from the prison and running for the safe headquarters of the Resistance's hideout.

At the door, he could see his two closest allies waiting for him: a female Duck with long black hair and gray feathers wearing a small red shirt and brown pants, waving to Canard and next to her was a middle-aged Duck with grayish-brown hair and light yellow feathers wearing glasses and a lab coat on, hinting he was a scientist, smiling in relief to see Canard coming towards them with the girl whose head was on his shoulder, her head turned from them.

"Canard, we're so glad you're okay," the female Duck said, going up to him, a hand on his arm, thankful to see he made it out of the isolated Saurian prison alive.

"Thanks, Suzette," he nodded, grinning at her, "I hope you guys weren't too worried."

"Oh, why would we be worried about you going into a Saurian prison all by yourself?" the middle-aged scientist asked sarcastically, walking up to his young friends.

"Good question, Dr. Beakin," Canard remarked, returning the sarcasm. "Thankfully, I was successful. This girl was the only prisoner in there."

"She was?" Suzette asked, looking at the girl who appeared to be unconscious and to her shock, very hurt. "How...How did this happen?"

"I don't know," Canard answered, looking concernedly at the wounded being. "She was tied up and locked up on the highest floor in the prison."

"Only prisoner and on the top floor, hmm?" Dr. Beakin queried, his hand on his lower beak in thought. "What could they have wanted with this child?"

"Well, from the looks of her, she must be someone important," Canard replied. "Look at her face."

Dr. Beakin tilted his head in curiosity and moved the girl's head to make her face him and Suzette whose eyes widened as big as goose eggs.

"What...what on Puck World is she?" Suzette stammered, amazed to see a being that looked neither Duck-like or lizard-like.

"She...she can't be a Duck, can she?" Dr. Beakin asked in wonder, gently cupping Dawn's face around the wound her cheek.

"No, she's not," Canard said, shaking his head, his eyes still on the girl. "When she saw me, she asked what I was, so I know she's not like us. I'd asked her to tell me what she was, but she was so hurt, she fell into unconsciousness. The only thing she could tell me was that her name is Dawn."

"Poor Dawn..." Suzette said sympathetically, saddened to see this strange being hurt.

"We must give her medical attention right away," Dr. Beakin declared, a finger pointed in the air. "Come," he said, leading the way, opening the door with a worried Suzette walking beside Canard who kept Dawn close to him, feeling as if someone would snatch her from his wings if he didn't.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Saurian palace in the throne room of a tall, red ugly reptilian alien wearing royal purple robes who was listening to the bad news of a certain girl's mysterious escape.

After his three henchmen, a really ugly, orange brute with a club tail; an old gray lizard with a staff and a duck's skull at the top; and a crazy-looking green reptile, had finished their report, their leader stood up furiously.

"What?!" he roared. "She's gone?!" he demanded as he walked up to the trembling goons. "What do you mean she's gone?!"

"Uh, she's not there," the green lizard said with a shrug, which was not the best answer for his king.

"Idiots!" the red lizard yelled. He used a weapon on his wrist to blast a Drone to tiny pieces. "How do you lose one tied up girl?"

"We think it was an intruder that took her, my lord," the orange reptile said.

"An intruder?" the red reptilian leader repeated. He thought for a second when it hit him. "Of course," he hissed, clenching his fists, "Canard. That pest must've broken in and took off with her." He growled and blasted another robot. "If he has her, then we'll never find her now!"

"Dragunus," said the old lizard, trying very hard to calm his leader down, "is it worth searching for her?"

"What, we gathered enough information from that shrimp," the orange monster agreed. "What else do we need her for?"

"That girl was our source of finding data on another world she's from," Dragunus snapped. "We could've learned more!" The irritated king blasted a corner piece of his throne off and took deep breaths to settle down. He stopped for a second and gave a threatening glare at his followers who took with fear. "I want you all to find that girl again and if she is alive, bring her to me that way. And if you see anyone protecting her, namely Canard, I want you to pluck their feathers and roast them alive. Am I perfectly clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," the green lizard saluted, then winced when he said ma'am, "I mean, yes, sir."

"Let's go," the orange lizard said, pulling the green out the door with the older reptile following, "before you say anything else that'll get us in more trouble." As soon as they were outside, he whispered to the elderly lizard, "Although, personally, I don't see why we should go after that squirt again."

"Dragunus's orders are orders. Perhaps you'd like to reason with him again," the gray lizard remarked.

The orange reptile sighed in exasperation, his hand on his forehead, "Fine, but goin' all this trouble for one pipsqueak had better be worth it."

The red lizard sat down at his slightly messed up throne, trying to cool himself at the bad news. He wanted the female prisoner back. Having her around gave them information about her home world, from what he learned, a green and blue planet inhabited by beings such as herself.

"Earth..." he said, remembering the planet's name, grinning wickedly. "I shall like to visit it someday. I'd love to have another world to conquer," he chuckled evilly.

* * *

After a while of examination, Dr. Beakin saw that she had indeed been whipped on her back and arms and with Suzette's help, they gave her soothing antiseptic and bandaged her bruised cheek and from what Dr. Beakin could understand, she was suffering a very bad head trauma which was the cause of her unconsciousness.

The good doctor said it wasn't severe, but he deduced she wouldn't wake up for a while, so after mending her, they took her to the farthest room of the hideout at the back where she could rest and hide. They felt like they should wait to tell the others about her later until she woke up and decided what to do then.

After he and his friends gently laid her down on the bed, Canard pulled the covers to her shoulders and looked with pity at the still comatose girl who looked almost peaceful despite the bandage taped to her hurt face and another wrapped around her head.

"How long do you think she'll be out cold again, doctor?" Suzette questioned.

"Well, maybe a day or two," he guessed with a sigh. "Whatever they did to her head, they really did a number on it. Honestly, I just hope the poor girl won't have amnesia when she wakes up."

Canard wished he hadn't said that. It's bad enough for her to be captured and tortured by conquering barbarians, but to lose her memory... He clenched his fist, hoping that she would wake up soon and that she'd remember everything.

"Until then, there is nothing we can do now," Dr. Beakin added, leading Suzette with a hand on her back, opening the door. They looked back to see Canard standing where he was overlooking the girl.

"Canard, are you coming?" Suzette asked.

"I'd...I'd like to stay a while," he answered quietly. "You guys go ahead."

"All right, Canard, if you insist," Dr. Beakin nodded in understanding, gently pushing Suzette outside, closing the door on their way out.

As the two walked down the hall, Suzette said, "He seems very worried about her."

"Well, of course," Dr. Beakin replied. "He's the one who rescued her. He feels responsible for her. I, myself, like I'm sure he is, am very curious about her."

"Me, too," she agreed. "If she's not a Duck or a Saurian, what is she? And where did she come from? And how did those ruthless monsters get their hands on her?"

"Hopefully, they won't get their hands on her again," Dr. Beakin said, holding Suzette's hand, feeling her grip. They didn't know anything about her at all except her name, but they did want her to wake up and recover soon.

In the room, Canard leaned with his hands on the edge of Dawn's bed, his eyes still fixed on her unmoving bandaged form. "Dawn..." he whispered gently, "if you can hear me, you should know that you're safe now. I've brought you to a hideout where your tormentors can't find you."

At first, he hoped she did hear him, but she remained still as stone. Canard put a hand at the side of her head where the bandage was wrapped and lightly stroked his fingers through her hair.

"I know you've never seen creatures like us, but we've never seen a creature like you, either," he went on, "but you don't have to worry, we're your friends. We want you to wake up and help you...and we'd like to get to know you. There's so many questions we want to ask you..."

As he kept stroking, the girl grinned a little, looking comfortable at his caress. Canard grinned, too, happy to see she was feeling safe. He bent down, resting his arm on the edge of the bed, his hand still stroking her. "There must be something very interesting about you," he whispered.

He knew that there had to be...why else would the Saurians take her? But whatever it is, he, for one, was never gonna let the Saurians near her again. But little did he know, as he kept staring at the red-head being, there were going be many adventures and challenges for her indeed. Sadly, he wasn't going to be there to protect her from it all...


	2. Homesick

**Chapter 1: Homesick**

On a green and blue planet called Earth lived humans beings. Seven continents and seven seas, most of it very beautiful. Some humans are good, of course others are bad. Of course, all worlds have problems, but the Earth people's problems were nothing compared to the six newcomers who had came to their world exactly one year ago today.

These six beings were giant alien Ducks were part of a Resistance because their planet had been taken over by an evil reptilian overlord named Dragunus who had escaped from them when they attacked him at his palace and came here to Earth.

They were only lucky to get here alive because when they'd chased him and his henchmen in their aircraft called the Raptor and flew after them in their own called the Aerowing which was attacked by the Saurians' matter-eating worm, their original leader named Canard gave himself up to the worm that took him away from his comrades thus protecting his team.

They were all heartbroken to lose their leader, but not as much as his best friend Wildwing Flashblade whom Canard dubbed new captain in his stead. At first, when they came to Earth, searching for Dragunus on this strange planet, he didn't feel fit to be leader, but with encouragement from his little brother and his teammates, he found the confidence he needed.

On Earth, they met a man named Phil who was able to provide them a hockey rink called the Pond where they could keep up their favorite sport hockey and also use it as their headquarters. Now being called the Mighty Ducks, they foiled Dragunus's plans to take over Earth and other weird villains' plots, but they had yet to capture the Saurians and seize their Dimensional Portal which they needed to return to Puck World.

Today, they were all in despair because it was the anniversary of their being strand on Earth and they fear they would never go home because shortly a while back, they had to stop the Saurians from bringing a horde of Drones from coming to Earth by bringing down their Raptor along with the Dimensional Portal.

They knew they did the right thing because they wouldn't have wanted Earth to suffer the same fate as their own world did, but still they wanted so badly to return to their home world...

That day, no one said anything, but Wildwing, the white-feathered armored Duck was in the hockey rink, sitting on one of the benches, looking at the empty ice and there, their simple of a duck's hockey mask and crossed hockey sticks.

He took off the golden Mask that turned white looking like a regular duck mask from his face, looking at the historical device that had aided his planet's old hero Drake DuCaine who had saved Puck World and his universe from the Saurians centuries ago. Canard was the one who found it and used it to find the Saurians when they came back again.

Wildwing traced his hand on the Mask, remembering the painful day of how Canard selflessly risked his life to save the others, telling Wildwing to be the new leader. The thought of that worm taking his best friend in the world away from him brought a tear in his eye, falling gently on the Mask.

Why, he thought, did he have to deal with this? Why did he, his friends, his planet have to deal with this? To have tyrant like Dragunus take away their home, their freedom, and his dear friend? Worse, Wildwing felt he himself took something very precious away from his teammates, too, their way back home. It was his idea to take down the Raptor that fell into the sea. Because of his plan, their ticket home might be gone forever.

Unknown to Wildwing, his little brother Nosedive, a blonde duck in lighter armor than his brother's, quietly came in and peeked in on Wildwing to see how he was doing. He saw that Wildwing had his Mask off and looking at it sadly in his hands.

Nosedive felt really bad for him because he knew he was missing his best friend and the fact he felt guilty because of his plan to stop the Saurians when they opened a portal to send in Dragunus's army from Puck World.

Honestly, he and the others wished they had another way to stop the Saurians without taking down the Raptor. They were happy to help Earth, yes, but they wanted to protect the Dimensional Portal and go home and free it and live life back the way it was before...

Wildwing, sensing someone was watching him, looked at the corner of his eye to see his younger brother, who hid away in shock when he was caught. Wildwing grinned in understanding that he just wanted to check on him.

"You can come out, Dive," he called to him reassuringly. "There's no need to hide."

The young Duck stepped out and walked up to his older brother whose eyes were on the Mask again. He sat down next to him, trying to figure out what to say to start a positive conversation. He was usually a Duck with a lot to say, but on a day like this, he really didn't know what to say.

Wildwing was quiet himself for a few seconds, then he said without looking at Nosedive, "I know you guys are all very upset because of our last fight with the Saurians."

"Well, yeah," he admitted, twiddling his fingers, "but..."

"And I know you guys wished I had another way of stopping them," Wildwing continued, still looking at the Mask.

"Y-yeah," he replied hesitatedly, "but... Well, what choice did we have?"

The white drake said nothing and the brothers were silent again. Nosedive knew he was right that there was no other way to stop the army from taking over Earth. Although, he himself had issues with this planet and some of its people who gave him and his teammates a hard time for being different from them, he still cared about it and some of its people who took a liking to them right away, especially his friends at the comic shop, Trash and Mookie. However, he still missed his friends from Puck World and wondered how everyone at home was doing...

He looked at this big brother, thinking that at least he has family with him. The others' families were still at Puck World and had no contact with them and he could imagine how sad they were.

"I am sorry we're stuck here," Wildwing murmured.

"Hey, it's okay," Nosedive assured, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Someone's gotta protect this planet if no one else. Plus, if we're lucky, if we want to call it luck, the Saurians are still alive and they'll show up again. Then that'll mean the Raptor's in one piece and so's the Dimensional Portal."

Wildwing would've liked to feel better at those words, but was it possible for the Saurians to be alive after a battle like that? Then again, those lizards have their ways of coming back.

Before anything else was said, their wrist communicators buzzed which usually meant there was trouble. They looked at each other and they both knew they were thinking and hoping that it might be _them_. They immediately went underground where their secret base was hidden and met up with their four teammates, Grin, a big and strong Duck; Duke, a one-eye, sword wielding Duck; Tanya, a smart, technical Duck, and Mallory a strong, agile Duck who were all at the giant computer called the Drake 1.

Wildwing, who put his Mask back on, came up to Tanya who was working the keyboards and asked, "What's the situation and where at?"

"Well, according to these readings, it's...outside of Anaheim several miles from here in the north," she reported, "In an abandoned factory in the woods."

"Obviously, it's not abandoned anymore," Duke commented, his arms folded. "Who'd be over there?"

"Don't know," Tanya answered, "but there are signs of big fires over there in that factory."

"We need to check it out," Wildwing declared. "Let's rock, Ducks."

They went straight to their jet the Aerowing and fastened their seat belts, everyone at their appointed stations. None of them said anything, but they hoped that it might be the Saurians back from the ocean depths and stirring up trouble as usual, but they tried not to get their hopes up in case they were wrong.

Just before they launched to the sky, Wildwing heard a beep from his com. "What...?"

"What is it?" Nosedive asked curiously.

Wildwing's com said that someone was at the door. "There's someone ringing our door bell," he answered, "but whoever it is, they can wait. We have to go now."

In the rink, a person, a girl with a blue hood on stepped in. She had knocked on the door, but no one answered, so she decided to let herself in. She saw the huge ice rink and shivered from the cold, thankful to have her jacket on. She looked at the huge rows of empty seats and wondered if anyone was home.

"This is the right place, right?" she asked herself as she kept looking around. "Hello?" she called, "Anyone here?"

To answer her question, the ice started to open a hole that startled her so that she hid behind the seats and to her amazement, an aircraft came out and went through a passage from the ceiling and flew into the sky.

"Whoa, was that them?" she asked in awe, as the ceiling door closed. "It has to be...and Canard must be in there."


	3. A Rescue from Above

** Chapter 2: A Rescue from Above **

The Mighty Ducks flew in their Aerowing to the factory in the north of Anaheim, wondering what might be over there. Although they would've been glad to be rid of the Saurians, their survival would've been a sigh that their Dimensional Portal had made it as well.

Finally, the old rusty metal-walled factory came into their sight. Once they landed outside, they stepped out and saw through the windows a light of orange which they knew were the fires.

"How do we know someone's not re-opening the factory again?" Nosedive asked.

"If it was just business, Dive, it wouldn't have drawn Drake 1's attention," Wildwing told him. "Let's all be on our guard, team. If it's the Saurians, they've laid a trap for us."

"And we want to go into a trap, why?" Nosedive questioned worriedly.

"'Cause we'll never find out anything if we wait out here," Mallory suggested, itching to get inside and kick whosever's tail is in there.

"Let's go," Wildwing pronounced, leading the way inside.

"Just what do we know about this factory, anyway?" Duke asked Tanya.

"According to Drake 1, it used to collecting wood from the trees out in this forest," Tanya explained.

"Then if there's fire in a factory with wood..." Grin said, hinting the bad part of the outcome.

"Then let's go and put out the flames," Wildwing declared as they all went inside. The logs inside were stocked at the back of the building, but they saw no fire going on.

"So, uh, where's the fire?" Duke asked with a confused raised eyebrow.

"This is the right factory Drake 1 told us about, right?" Mallory queried, looking around for the flames.

"Yes, this is the only factory out here," Tanya answered.

"Looks like you need to give Drake 1 a tune-up, Tanya," Nosedive suggested.

"Drake 1 has never been wrong about an emergency before, Nosedive," Tanya insisted.

"Not to mention, the orange light we saw before we came in here," Grin pointed out.

Wildwing used his Mask to scan the place for anything...or anyone hiding behind the logs, but saw nothing out of the ordinary... At least not yet.

"Is this the trap you were talking about?" Mallory asked her leader.

"Most definitely," Wildwing nodded, "and I don't see anyone in here or anything."

"But how did we see that orange light?" Duke asked.

Wildwing didn't answer his question but saw three halls and wondered if the answers were in any of them. "Look there," he announced, pointing to the halls. "One of these must lead to something that can tell us what's going on. We split into groups of two and each one will take a hall."

So Duke paired with Mallory, Grin with Tanya, and Nosedive with Wildwing. They separated into the dark long hallways, going to discover what was hiding...and waiting for them.

* * *

Mallory and Duke walked into the left hallway, trying to see where they were going.

"Talk about finding your way without a candle," Mallory remarked, "I can't see my beak at the end of my face."

"No sweat, sweetheart," Duke assured, pulling out his saber. He unsheathed it, turning a light, but only for a second, then sheathed it again to turn the light on again and repeated. "If I keep this up, it'll help us see easier," he explained walking past her.

From what Mallory could see from the light going on and off, Duke turned to her with a grin on his face, offering a hand. "Shall we?" he asked in a gentlemanly yet teasing sort of way.

Mallory groaned in aggravation shoved his hand away from her. "Just keep walking, L'Orange," she hissed, making Duke see her irritated face in the light.

He just shrugged and led the way. "Just tryin' to be nice," he insisted, though he grinned which he was glad she didn't see, not that she needed to.

"Well, I hate to see what you're like when you're naughty," she mumbled, rolling her eyes as she followed him. They finally reached a door at the end. Mallory reached to turn the knob, but it was locked.

"I believe this somethin' I should do," Duke pronounced, handing her his saber. "Keep this on for me while I do my magic." As Mallory kept turning the saber's light on and off, she saw him pulling out his usual lock picks and worked on the lock.

"You know, I'll bet ya I can do this in the dark if I tried," Duke thought aloud, trying to be impressive which didn't work on her.

"Cut the ego, will you? And open the door," Mallory said impatiently, getting less than amused by his attitude by the minute.

Duke is unlocked and once he took his saber back, they looked inside to see nothing inside the room.

"Well, an empty room doesn't seem to have anything important," Duke commented as he kept turning on the light in his saber as they stepped in.

"Then let's get back to the others," Mallory suggested, but just as they turned to the door, something fell over them and they struggled to find themselves trapped in a net and this particular net glowed white.

Duke tried to cut it, but to no luck whatsoever. "Oh, great," Duke grunted in aggravation, "What next?" They hear a thud in front of them and from the net's glowing light, they could see something they hadn't seen in a while, a Saurian Drone.

"You had to ask, didn't you?" Mallory snapped.

* * *

Tanya and Grin took the hall on the right and in the dark, Tanya used her Omni-Tool's light to help them see where they were going.

"I'm beginning to think we might all need one of those," Grin thought aloud, pointing to her light-up wrist gadget.

"I thought you said you weren't into material things," Tanya reminded him.

"I'm not, but it wouldn't hurt to have a guiding light when walking in a dark place such as this," Grin replied.

Tanya smirked, then thought about this confusion for a minute, regarding the orange light that suggested as fires to Drake 1. "I still think there's something here that's big enough to alert Drake 1," she insisted. "It's never lied to us before."

"But there is something here lying to us," Grin pointed out.

"Right...the question is: Who is this someone that's doing that something?"

"Hopefully, the answers lie within one of these halls."

They walked on until they see a door in front of them. Tanya turned the knob to find it locked.

"Allow me," Grin offered, gently pushing her aside and tugging the door from its hinges with his great strength. Tanya had to admit, sometimes the two of them made a good team with her scientific know-how and his physique.

Grin moved the door away for Tanya to light up the room to see an empty room. "Well, looks like we found nothing at all in here," Tanya claimed.

"Remember, Tanya, one shouldn't judge by outward appearances," Grin reminded her. "There may be more secrets in this room than meets the eye."

She didn't always understand Grin, but she knew he made sense and they stepped inside to look around, then to their total surprise, a bright white net falls over them both, catching them in a tangle.

Tanya tried to use her Omni-Tool to cut it and Grin tried to break it, but to their despair, neither had luck. What made things worse: A Drone from the dark ceiling falls in front of them.

"You know, Grin," Tanya said, fearfully, "sometimes I hate it when we're right."

* * *

In the middle hallway that Flashblade brothers were taking, they wouldn't see their way so Wildwing used his Mask to help him out. "Okay, I see a door that a that's several steps away from us. Once we open that door, we'll find out what's going on. That is, this is the door that'll hold the answers."

"And the other doors that don't?" Nosedive queried.

"Probably be just empty..." Wildwing replied, keeping his eyes ahead of them to see where he's going in the dark using his Mask.

"I just don't get what was up a while ago," Nosedive said honestly. "A fire attracts Drake 1's attention, we come here, we see a orange glow inside, we come in and we find nothing back there," he listed, pointing his thumb back to the way they came.

"It's definitely a mystery," Wildwing agreed thoughtfully as they at last reach the door to find it was locked when Wildwing turned the knob. "Hold on." He gently pushed his little brother back and aimed his built-in Puck Launcher at the door and shot a puck that busted the lock.

Wildwing opened the door and check with his Mask to see what so-called secrets were in here.

"Anything, bro?" Nosedive asked in the dark.

"Nothing," he reported.

"Maybe the others are having better luck," Nosedive guessed, starting to turn back, but Wildwing put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Hang on, if there's nothing in here, why was the door locked?" he wondered, his hand under his beak.

"Uh...maybe the lock was stuck or somethin'?" Nosedive suggested.

"Hmm...or...maybe whoever was causing trouble...locked the doors so we'd think there was something important in here..." Wildwing deduced thoughtfully, "Otherwise if they weren't locked, we would've suspected it was a..."

Suddenly, the brothers find them on the ground with a white glowing net over them, struggling and grunting to get out.

"A trap, right?" Nosedive asked as they kept trying to free themselves in vain.

Then to their horror, a see a shape landing in front of them overlooking the two like prey and they realize it was a Drone.

"Well, bro, good news is: If there's Drone, then the Saurians are alive," Nosedive chuckled nervously looking fearfully at the dreaded robot.

"The bad news is: Now we're trapped..." Wildwing added, then his eyes widened with terrible realization, "and that means the others are caught, too."

The Drone picked up the net and dragged the boys out through the dark hall for them to see their teammates indeed trapped in glowing white nets with two other Drones guarding them. Once the Flashblade brothers were thrown with the rest of the Ducks, trapped and helpless, they see three green shining lights appearing in the room.

Once the lights cleared away from their bodies, the Ducks recognized the enemies they almost thought they'd never see again: Siege, an large muscled orange Saurian, Wraith, an old Saurian with a staff and a Duck's skull at the top, and Chameleon, a green crazy-looking Saurian all looking menacingly at their trapped feathered foes.

"Well, well, well, Ducks, long time no see," Siege announced, more than happy to see them tied up.

"Miss us?" Chameleon asked playfully.

"Yeah, like a boxer misses his punching bag," Mallory hissed.

"We almost thought you guys were long gone after our last night," Duke added sourly.

"Oh, well, we're so glad to relief you of that dreadful thought," Wraith joked.

"But you sure ticked on Dragunus," Siege added, laughing, "He said this time it was time to stop playing around and finally get rid of you feathered pests."

"And we knew you'd notice trouble wherever it is," Wraith continued, lighting up his hands with fire thanks to his dark magic, "so I used the power of our ancestors to start a fire in his abandoned log factory that would draw your attention."

"And the moment you got here, we hid ourselves and our Drones in the three rooms, knowing you'd split up into three parties and fall into our traps like fish," Siege concluded.

"Pretty clever, huh?" Chameleon asked.

"So clever, it's scary," Duke admitted grudgingly.

"Speaking of scary," Siege said, pulling out something from his pocket, "it's time to dispose of these freaks." It was a little red and brown device and when he pressed a button, the Ducks could hear a beep and when he dropped it, they would see a timer on the thing that said 1:00

"Once this detonator goes off..." Siege explained.

"Bye-bye, birdies," Chameleon finished, with a playful wave of his hand.

"Best you say good-byes to each other, Ducks," Wraith advised. "We'll be outside watching the show." Then the Saurians left with the Drones using their teleporters on their wrists, leaving the Ducks to stare in horror at the device that was going to implode in less than 45 seconds.

"We gotta get out of this thing!" Wildwing shouted, trying to break the net. "Duke, can't you cut your net with your saber?"

"I tried, this thing is un-cuttable," Duke growled, trying to untangle it.

"I tried with my Omni-Tool," Tanya reported, "and Grin tried to break it, no-go."

"There's gotta be some way out of these things," Wildwing grunted, as they all struggled for their lives, but it was no use. There were only 30 seconds left and there wouldn't be enough time for them to break the nets and escape. They were doomed.

* * *

Outside of the factory, the Saurians and their Drones were waiting five miles away from the building, waiting eagerly for the fireworks.

"Ooh, wouldn't Dragunus love to see this?" Siege claimed, rubbing his hands with glee.

"Yeah," Chameleon agreed, then slapping his head, groaning "Ugh, I wish I brought a camera."

"Soon the Ducks will be nothing but a distant memory," Wraith said so suredly, then looked up in the sky to see something odd. "Wait, something's wrong."

"Oh, now don't say that," Siege begged as they both looked where the elder lizard was looking. The thing they saw was something flying much like...

"Hang on, is that..." Siege began to ask, narrowing his eyes at the flying object, "...a Drone?"

"Why is Dragunus sending a 4th Drone all the way out here?" Wraith asked suspiciously.

"Maybe we thinks we couldn't do a good job again," Chameleon guessed with a shrug. "He needs to have a little more faith in us."

"But why send one flying when he could've just teleported it to us?" Wraith pointed out.

"Good question," Siege agreed as they stared at the flying Drone that started to go downwards in the factory.

"What's it doin'?!" Siege yelled as the Drone flew straight down, fast and furious.

* * *

In the factory, the Mighty Ducks couldn't believe after being stuck on Earth for a whole year of fighting the Saurians, defeating them on their last fight, thinking they lost their Dimensional Portal forever, and now they find themselves in nets and bracing themselves to be blown in smithereens.

Just when they were about to lose hope completely, something busts through the ceiling and lands with a big thud in the middle of the room. What they saw was...another Drone, but this one looked...dirty and a little rusty.

"What the heck...?" Wildwing asked looking at the slightly messed-up Drone in bewilderment.

The Drone turned to the Ducks who looked in fear at it as it walked towards them.

"What's it doing?" Grin questioned as the Drone came closer.

"Why is there a Drone when those goons know we're already trapped and about to be blown to bits?" Duke added with a confused raised eyebrow.

The Drone stopped and looked at the device that said fifteen seconds. It picked up the thing quickly and flew back through the ceiling in the sky and disappeared.

"Uh...did we miss something?" Nosedive asked, feeling dumb-founded by that.

* * *

The rusty Drone looked for someplace to get rid of this thing and saw a lake not far away from the factory. Quickly, it flew close to the water and with five seconds to spare, it threw the detonator into the water and as the Drone flew away from the lake, the thing set off and made a big splash that sent the water several feet high.

"What did it just do?!" Siege demanded as the Drone flew back into the factory.

"I think it just got rid of our detonator," Wraith answered.

"The boss didn't want the Ducks to be blown up?" Chameleon asked, scratching his head.

"That's it, we're goin' to see what's up with that robot," Siege announced, marching straight in. "Come on."

* * *

In the factory, the mysterious Drone landed in front of the Ducks looking over them all as they stared in wonder and yet in suspense at the thing.

"Did that Drone just take the detonator away?" Mallory asked.

"I think it did," Wildwing answered quietly.

"Why?" Duke queried. "We were trapped. What more did Dragunus want?"

Then the Ducks and the 4th Drone turned to see the door opening to reveal angry Saurians with their three Drones.

"Hey, what do you think you were doin'?" Siege asked the rusty Drone angrily. "We were supposed to blow them sky high!"

The 4th Drone pointed its blaster at the Saurians who immediately moved out of the way in fear, leaving their Drones in the open. The mysterious Drone blew up its fellow Drones and looked at the lizards cowarding behind a bile of logs.

"That robot's gone rogue!" Chameleon yelped.

The remaining Drone pointed its blaster at them, ready to aim and to everyone's complete shock, it spoke clearly and firmly with a feminine voice, "I'm only gonna warn you three once: Surrender now or you'll end up like your toys over there."

"It...just talked," Tanya her eyes wide in surprise.

"And it talks...like a girl," Nosedive added in confusion.

"Since when did we make female Drones that talk?" Chameleon asked.

"We never did," Wraith corrected. "My guess is: There's someone in that Drone controlling it."

Wildwing wondered if this was true and used his Mask to look inside through the robot and saw indeed there was a person inside. "It's true," Wildwing whispered to his teammates.

"Well, you all gonna come quietly or do I begin to play rough?" the Drone rider asked again, her blaster still aimed at the lizards.

"Huh...there's something familiar about that voice," Wraith murmured thoughtfully as he stared at the mysterious robot containing its controller.

"We ain't surrenderin' to nobody!" Siege bellowed, taking out his blaster, "Especially to a punk usin' out of our own robots!"

The Drone rider dodged his attacks and blasted the lizards who ducked behind their hiding place. The rider had an idea when she grabbed one of the logs and threw it at them across the room.

"Hey, no throwin' wood!" Chameleon hollered to the Drone controller.

The rider ignored him and shot at him who hid away again. "Still wanna fight, tough guys?" the rider asked playfully.

"Watch and see!" Siege cried, ready to shoot again.

"Wait, Siege," Wraith halted, stopping him. "There's something strange about this one."

"Gee, other than the fact she's using one of our Drones to save the Ducks, you mean?" Siege snapped.

Without waiting, the rider took a shot and hit Wraith with a direct hit. The elder hit the wall and slumped down into unconsciousness.

"Old lizard down!" Chameleon cried in in total fear, his arms spread in the air. "Old lizard down!"

"Whoa, she shot a clear one at Wraith," Mallory commented in awe.

"Yeah, she's got great aimin'," Duke agreed with a small nod as he stared at this mysterious robot controller.

"Now, who's next?" the rider asked, looking at the two remaining lizards still standing.

"Uh, Siege, I think we should scram," Chameleon strongly suggested, looking in fright at the Drone.

"No way, we ain't givin' up to nobody!" Siege denied, pointing his gun at their opponent again, but the Drone rider shot his gun out of his hands, making him shake them in pain.

"That's anybody, ya uneducated club-tailed orange beast," she corrected bluntly. "Now, are you guys ready to give up?"

"Uh, okay, let's get out of here," Siege pronounced, quickly grabbing Wraith as he and the Chameleon used their teleporters to escape when the rider shot at them.

"Darn it! I almost had them!" the rider cried in disappointment. She sighed and said to the still beak-agaped Ducks, "At least you guys are safe, though. You all right?"

"Uh...yeah," Wildwing answered, still baffled at this stranger.

"Good," the Drone rider nodded, walking up to them. "I was afraid I wouldn't make it in time."

"Who are you?" Wildwing asked.

"I'm a friend," she explained, a metal hand on her chest. "We never met, but I heard a lot about you. Now I'm not your fan, but I am someone who likes and cares about you and wants to help you."

"You are?" Mallory asked with a questioning raised eyebrow.

"If I wasn't, why else would I help you?" the asked back.

"But would you want to help us?" Wildwing said.

"First let's get you out of those nets and then we'll walk," the rider suggested, walking up to them.

"Yeah, getting out of these nets would be a good idea," Nosedive agreed.

"Good luck," Duke commented, stretching the glowing net, "these things are un-cuttable and unbreakable."

When the rider got close, picked up a knot in her metal hand and suggested confusedly, "Why didn't you just untie the knot instead?"

"The knot?" they asked in unison.

"Yeah, like this." Despite her metal hands, she was able to untie the knots of all three nets and set them free. "There you go, free as birds!" she declared happily.

"Uh...how come we didn't notice the knots?" Nosedive asked.

"Probably because we were panicking," Wildwing guessed, though they felt rather embarrassed that they didn't even bother to notice they couldn't just untied themselves loose.

"Look at the bright side: The next time you'll know," the rider said positively.

"We'll make a mental note on that," Grin assured.

"We're all grateful that you saved us, but could you please tell us who you are and how you know us?" Wildwing asked the rider, wanting very much for the answers.

"Well, to answer the second question: I know you all because your friends and allies back home told me all about you," she explained.

"Our friends and allies?" Mallory repeated.

"Back home?" Duke added.

"Yeah, I just came from Puck World a while back," she answered simply.

"Puck World?!" they all cried in shock.

"You're from Puck World?" Tanya asked, almost not believing what she said.

"Well, yeah...just recently," she answered hesitantly, which sounded weird to Wildwing.

"Hang on, if you're from Puck World, are you from the Resistance?" Mallory queried.

"That I am," she answered, a little proudly.

"Whoa, when and how did you get here?" Nosedive asked excitedly.

"When: Just a few days ago: How: Well, a while back, a couple of spies of ours found out there was gonna be an invasion on Earth, so we thought it'd be good if we stole one of the Drones and put ourselves in it and use it to sneak into the Drone army undetected. The scientists did some good work on this bad boy, let me tell ya.

"Anyway, once I was in after learning how to work the controls, I flew through the Dimensional Portal with the army and came here over an ocean..."

"An ocean?" Wildwing asked nervously.

"Yeah, an ocean where the Drones were flying over when they came here...and were being shot down," she added, sounding less than happy when she continued, "and how I nearly got shot down along with them, mind you. But hey, I'm not blaming you guys or anything. I mean, how were you supposed to know I was in one of these things?"

"But of course you escaped," Grin pointed out.

"Yep," the rider nodded her robot's head, "and I would've introduced myself but I was afraid of how you would react to a remaining Drone, so I decided to hide and wait for you guys to return to your headquarters, wherever it was and then reveal myself without this metal suit.

"Unfortunately, when I followed you guys in the air, the fuel in my ride went out so I had no choice but to take refuge in a forest for a while and used whatever I could find to refill the tank in this robot. Finally, when I was ready, I followed you all to Anaheim and asked if anyone knew anything strange going on in town. The folks said they knew that a group of Ducks were living at a hockey rink called the Pond so I decided to check it out."

"Wait a minute," Wildwing motioned with a raised hand, "so you were the one who rang our door bell before we left?"

"That's right," she answered. "You guys didn't answer, so I let myself in and that's when I saw you guys coming out of the ice rink and flew into the air in your jet. I would've waited for you guys at the Pond, but I was a little anxious to see you...so I went back to where I hid my ride and used its radar to follow the trail your jet left.

"When I saw the factory, I could see three Drones that were cleaner and shinier than mine and I saw lizard creatures and I knew it had to be them. They were all waiting outside and I had a feeling something bad was happening in here, so I decided to come straight down and well, you know the rest."

"Whoa, to think another Duck comes knocking on our door and we didn't answer," Nosedive remarked.

"Yeah, from now on when someone's at our door, we're gonna see who it is," Wildwing proclaimed.

"Uh...about what he said about another D..." the rider began to say, but was interrupted by Mallory.

"Well, wait, if you had come from Puck World after that last fight with the Saurians, you could've just landed your Drone somewhere and then come out and introduce yourself," Mallory told her.

"I would have..." she replied, sounding slightly nervous. "...but I was kinda shy."

"Shy?" Duke repeated confusedly. "You mean, you hid yourself, followed us secretly home and took refuge in a forest to collect fuel for your Drone because you were too shy to come to us without your robot?"

"Well, it's just that...I noticed there were six of you..." she began to explain.

"Yeah, six of us and...?" Nosedive asked, wondering what she was talking about.

"Well, I noticed someone wasn't with you and I didn't want to introduce myself without him being there or you wouldn't have believed me," she answered.

"Him who?" Wildwing queried, getting more and more confused by the minute.

"Canard," she replied.

"Canard?" the Ducks echoed loudly.

"Yeah, he's the one who led you to Dragunus's castle a year ago on Puck World, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, but how do you know him?" Mallory said.

"Because he saved my life over a year ago," she answered.

"Saved your life? How?" Duke questioned, getting more interested as well as everyone else.

"He freed me from a dungeon that was isolated from all towns and people," she explained, "He believed there must've been important prisoners in there, but the only one he found was me."

"An only prisoner in an isolated dungeon?" Grin asked in thought, his hand under his beak.

"Canard never told us about that," Tanya remarked to her teammates.

"Yeah, why didn't he ever say anything about that?" Mallory agreed.

"I think I have a pretty good idea and it's the same reason why he never introduced me to the others when he brought me to the safety of the Resistance hideout," she explained.

"Whoa, wait, he brought you to the hideout and never introduced you to everyone?" Wildwing queried.

"Yeah..." she answered sadly. "Hang on, let me get out of this suit...and then you'll understand why."

The Drone's chest opened and the Ducks narrowed their eyes in the shadow to see their rescuer from Puck World and to their complete amazement and shock...this person whom they thought was a Duck...was not a Duck at all!

* * *

**Hey, guys, I hope this story has been good so far, and for those who have read my original story, I hope this is better and more interesting. Thanks and God bless. And please review me and tell me what you think.**


	4. Exposition and an Addition part 1

Chapter 3: Exposition & an Addition part 1

When the Ducks saw their rescuer in the flesh, they saw with that she had no beak or feathers. She had a freckled-skinned face of soft cheeks and lips.

The young girl stepped out of her Drone for them to see she also had long red hair in a ponytail and a blue jacket and jeans on which she wiped, revealing her five-fingered hands. She looked with bluish-green eyes at the six Ducks who kept staring at her and said jokingly, "Yes, I know, you were expecting someone taller and someone with a little more Duck-like appearance."

"Well, it was mostly the second one," the white drake wearing a golden Mask and yellow-and-white-and-green armor whom she knew was Wildwing remarked still in a daze at the sight of her.

"Actually, I kind of thought she'd be both," confessed a young drake with shoulder-length blonde hair and yellow feathers covered in the same-colored yet lighter armor, getting a less than amused raised eyebrow from Wildwing and she had a good guess he was his little brother Nosedive.

"You're...you're..." a female Duck with shorter red hair its ringlets reaching the bottom of her face wearing a light-and-dark purpled battle suit began to say, having a hard time to finish her sentence and the rider guessed she was Mallory.

"You're a human," finished a wide-eyed gray-feathered drake whose slightly-white hair on the front of his head spread above his bill with a chip at the left corner, wearing an eye patch on his right eye and a red battle suit and a yellow triangle-shaped thing with a handle on his left shoulder and she assumed he was Duke.

"I know that," she replied simply.

"But...but how can there be a human from Puck World?" a female Duck with longer blonde hair which stood up wearing glasses and a purple battle suit asked in complete confusion and the rider guessed she was Tanya.

"Correction: I said I recently came from Puck World," she explained, "I didn't say I came from, as in I was born and raised there."

"So, you're saying you came to our world from...?" deduced a large and muscular gray-feathered Duck with a short black pony tail with a big white T-shirt and red pants and she guessed he was Grin.

"Earth?" she finished. "Yep, this planet we're on is my birthplace."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Wildwing said, his hands opened in front of him, trying to take in all this. "You know Canard and joined the Resistance and yet you're a human from Earth?"

"Now I know you're all confused..." she began to say.

"Beyond all understanding," Nosedive put in.

"...but I'll tell you all everything," she finished, "First, let's get into our wings and get outta here. In case those Saurians come back with reinforcements."

Wildwing, although completely baffled by all this, he nodded, "She's right, let's go."

The girl went back into her Drone and when she sat back in her seat, she told the Ducks, "My ride is too heavy for your jet to carry, so I'll fly and follow ya. We'll talk when we get back to the Pond. After all, I'd feel better if we talked about all this with Canard."

"Wait a minute, what do you mean?" Wildwing asked, this robot rider jumbling their heads more and more.

"Well, he must be back at the Pond, right?" she reasoned. "Although, it's weird since I didn't see him with you guys when I first came here over the sea," she thought, her hand on her chin, then asked them concernedly, "He's not sick, is he?"

Wildwing stared at his teammates and they all knew that this girl didn't know. "Guys?" the girl called, wondering why they were quiet.

The Masked leader didn't know what to say. She thought he was still around them and back at the Pond. How were they gonna explain...? The only thing he could say was, "Uh, why don't we just wait 'til we get to the Pond and then we'll talk."

The girl blinked in wonder, but said no more as she closed her robot's chest and announced, "I'll meet you guys in the sky when you get in your jet." They watched as she flew through the hole in the ceiling she'd made, not knowing how to take this.

"Can someone tell me what just happened?" Nosedive requested.

"A human comes in a Drone and saves us," Mallory started.

"Says she came from Puck World where, over a year ago, she was rescued by Canard who never even mentioned this kid," Duke added motioning his hand to the hole where she exited.

"Who joined the Resistance and snuck into the Drone army," Tanya continued.

"Which she escaped from when they came to Earth," Grin put in.

"And hides from us because she couldn't meet us in her Drone suit or out of it because Canard wasn't there to help us explain and now she comes looking for us days later and thinks Canard is still..." Wildwing concluded, looking away, not wanting to finish his sentence that his best friend wasn't with them now. He looked up at the sky where she was waiting for them and started for the door. "Come on," he called to his teammates, "we'd better head back to the Pond so we can hear her story."

"Wildwing, are you sure about this?" Mallory asked doubtfully.

"She saved our lives, didn't she?" Wildwing pointed out. "And she knows about Canard..."

"Wildwing, how do we know she's not a spy sent by Dragunus?" Mallory questioned.

"Mallory, if she was a spy, why would Dragunus send her and have his goons set a trap for us?" he reasoned.

"Yeah, we were at their mercy just a few minutes ago," Duke agreed, bringing his index finger and thumb an inch away from each other. "We were this close to bein' blown to nothin', so why bother sendin' a spy to seemingly rescue them?"

"And the Saurians don't seem to know her since they weren't acting dumb," Grin added.

"Not that they ever really 'act' dumb," Nosedive commented using air quotes.

"Not to mention, if she was hired by Dragunus to ride in one of his Drones, why make it look so dirty and run-down?" Tanya thought aloud.

"I say, we give her a chance to explain," Wildwing pronounced. "Personally, even though we don't know her yet, I think she's telling the truth."

The others followed their leader to the jet the Aerowing and flew back to Anaheim with the Drone rider following beside them. Honestly, having a Drone that close to them made them feel uneasy, but at least there was a friendly rider inside it... Or she seemed friendly, so far. While Mallory still had her doubts about her, the others hoped she was wrong about their rescuer.

Finally, they make it back to the Pond and both flying machines go through an entrance to a place that the rider assumed was a garage since she saw a big green and white vehicle in there when she opened her robot's chest and stepped out.

"All right, we're at the Pond," the rider announced walking up to the Ducks who came out of the Aerowing. "So let's go get Canard and then we'll have story time," she suggested excitedly, which did sound...real to Wildwing. "I can't wait to see him again."

Wildwing, although he said she was telling the truth about knowing Canard, he had to make sure. "Uh, can I ask how well you know Canard?" he asked curiously.

"Very well," she answered. "I know he's your best friend and that he'd hang with you and little brother here," she began to explain, motioning her hand to Wildwing to Nosedive. He said you were the best goalie he ever knew and that..."

"Okay, but did he tell you things like..." Wildwing asked, thinking what to ask, "What school we went to?"

"Hmm," she hummed, her eyes closed, thinking back, "well, if I recall correctly, he said you two went to the same schools when you were kids from kindergarten to high school. I think it was Duckling Elementary School and Drakard Junior High and Fly Wing High School." Turning to Nosedive, she added, "As a matter of fact, you went to the same elementary and middle schools and now you're in the same high school." Back to Wildwing, she said, "And you and Canard are at the same college Razor Wing University."

Wildwing and Nosedive looked at amazement at each other at her accuracy.

"If you're wondering if he told me your birthdays," the girl went on, "your birthday, Wildwing is March 7th, 1991. And, Nosedive, your birthday is September 9th, 1999. And Canard's birthday is July 18th, 1991."

The Flashblade brothers stared in quietly for a moment and Wildwing softly said, "That's right, you got it."

"Wait, hang on, you know which of us is which?" Nosedive asked, motioning his hand to himself and his big brother.

"Well, sure, you didn't think Canard wouldn't tell me what you guys looked liked, did ya?" she queried, her hands on her hips. Looking around, she said, "Speakin' of Canard, where in the world is he?"

The others looked at each other. It was true she had knowledge of Canard and of Wildwing and Nosedive, but they wanted to hear her side of the story before explaining about Canard.

"Uh, before we tell you where, could you please tell us about yourself?" Wildwing requested. "...We'd really like to hear about it."

The girl looked at him and wondered why he was being so secretive about Canard's whereabouts, but she figured she'd only get their answers if they get hers first, so she nodded. "Okay, but we might as all sit down 'cause it's a very long one."

The Ducks all pulled out chairs and Wildwing offered her one. Everyone sat and listened intently to the girl. "Well, you see, on my first day on Puck World...I was in a cell of some sort when I woke up on your world. My hands were tied behind my back and so were my feet. Not only did I know I was a prisoner, but I was also very hurt. My cheek was in pain and I felt like I got attacked by a snake that used its tail as a whip on my arms and back and...I had the most painful headache in my life."

She shivered at the thought of that horrible day when she was in such terrible pain. To Wildwing, it did look real enough to believe, but said nothing as she continued after a moment's pause. "And what was worse was: Because of that headache, I couldn't remember what happened to me before I woke up in the cell. I couldn't remember who did that to me and I didn't know how I got there at all. In fact, I thought I was still on Earth somewhere...that is until a person came in and untied me and picked me up to carry me to safety."

"Canard?" Wildwing guessed.

"Mm-hmm," she nodded, "I was shocked of course to see a giant Duck like him, but I wasn't scared at all... I mean, he was willing to get me out of that dungeon, so I knew for sure he was a good guy, but as he carried me, the pain in my head made me lose consciousness again and then, finally I woke up again and..."

* * *

_The red-haired girl's eyes fluttered and looked to find herself instead of on her side on the ground being tied up, she saw she was in a room on a bed and a comforter on her. She began to lift herself up, but then winced at the pain she felt on her back that felt the same on her arms, not to mention the uncomfortable spinning in her head._

_She looked to see that her arms were wrapped in bandages and when she put a hand on her head to wonder what'd happened, she felt a bandage on her head. Her hand slipped off it until she felt another bandage on the right side of her face._

_"What in the world is going on?" she asked herself, "And how did I get here?" She looked back and she remembered waking up in a cell being so hurt and a strange guy...a Duck-like guy coming in and taking her away..._

_"Who was he?" she wondered aloud, "And what is he?" And will he come back to see her and tell her what is going on? She was gonna get up and leave the room to find him until she heard the door across from the room open and saw her tanned feathered rescuer entering._

_When he looked up and saw that she was up, his face was alight with relief and joy. "Hey, you're awake!" he exclaimed, walking up to her. The girl wasn't intimidated, but it was still a little odd that he was a Duck...then again, how odd was she to him?_

_"You've been asleep for a while," he told her when he came to her bed. "How do you feel?"_

_"Sore," she answered simply, touching her head._

_Canard grinned in pity at her condition. "The bruise on your face should hear shortly and your head will recover soon, too," he explained, then motioned her wrapped arms, his eyes with regret "The wounds on your arms and back, they'll heal, but they may leaves scars."_

_The girl looked at her arms for a second, then looked at him. "Forgive me, but who are you?"_

_"My name's Canard," he answered. "You're Dawn, right?"_

_"Right," she nodded._

_"Yeah, you told me your name before you passed out. I found you in a dungeon cell and got you out."_

_Dawn blinked at him and asked, "How did I get in that cell?"_

_"You don't remember?" Canard queried, surprised._

_"No..." she replied, thinking back, "I remember waking up in that cell feeling hurt and..." She tried to think back to what happened to her, but when she thought about it, she held her head and grunted._

_"What's wrong?" Canard said in concern._

_"I'm tryin' to remember, but..." she muttered. She thought hard, but it only made the pain worse. "I can't remember. Why?" she cried in searing pain._

_"Dawn, stop," Canard ordered, putting his hands on her shoulders to make her face him. "Don't try to remember if it hurts you," he said gently._

_Dawn took deep breaths to bring the pain down and looked at him in bewilderment. "Canard, what happened to me?"_

_"I don't know," he answered sadly. "I was hoping you'd know."_

_She looked at the ground silently for a minute, then looked up at him again and said, "Do you even know whose prisoner I was?"_

_"Yeah, you were in the Saurians' dungeon," he nodded. "It was an isolated dungeon that I thought held some very important prisoners that Dragunus didn't want anyone to find out. Seeing a person like you, I guess that may explain a thing or two."_

_"Saurians? Dragunus?" she repeated confusedly._

_"I guess you don't remember seeing them, either," Canard remarked regretfully._

_"No...who are they?" she asked, half-curious, half-concern. "And who are you? You and your people. That is if there are other people like you."_

_"Oh, there are," he assured. "There's a whole planet of us here."_

_"Planet?" she echoed, with a raised eyebrow._

_"Yeah, this is Puck World."_

_"Hang on a sec," she beckoned waving her hands, rubbing her temples, her eyes closed trying to take in all this. "I'm on another planet of giant talking Ducks...?"_

_"Yeah, you never heard of us?" he asked._

_"Where I'm from, we never heard of people from other worlds," she explained. "We've always wondered, but we've never discovered anyone outside of our solar system. One of the planets we humans, that's what I am, live on is a blue and green planet called Earth. Actually, it's the only planet in our system that has life. All the others planets are desolate and uninhabited._

_"I guess you guys never heard of us, either," she assumed._

_"No, we sure haven't," he replied, leaning his folded arms...er, wings on the edge of the bed. "I wonder why we haven't."_

_"Good question." Dawn blinked wondering why she was having a conversation right now when she should be asking about these "Saurians" who took her prisoner. "And these Saurians?" she questioned. "What are they? Are they Ducks, too?"_

_"No, they're an evil reptilian alien race," he explained grimly, "A long time ago, their ancestors conquered our home world until an ancient hero named Drake DuCaine defeated them and banished them into another dimension. We lived just fine until centuries later, their descendants and the only Saurian overlord Dragunus made a Dimensional Portal that helped them get here._

_"He sought revenge on us because of what Drake did to his ancestors and took our own home away from us."_

_Dawn covered her mouth in total shock to this. "You mean, as of right now, this lizard monster has conquered your whole world?" she asked quietly._

_Canard nodded, remembering that horrible day when the Saurians invaded his planet. "He had his Drones made us slaves working in camps," he continued, his hand clutching the comforter, hating to talk about it. "We've been suffering dearly and we're still suffering..." he added, then looked up at her with a rather determined expression "but a few of us knew that we couldn't just let that tyrant take what's rightfully ours. So a handful of us decided to team up as a Resistance and stop the Saurians as best we could. Yesterday, we gathered intel about that Saurian dungeon you were in. I went in by myself and found you there and you know the rest._

_"Honestly, I thought you were a Duck that the Saurians performed horrible experiments on, seeing you didn't have a beak, feathers and that you had five fingers," he concluded._

_"Well, the Saurians didn't change anything about my appearance," she said, "but there..." A hand on her bandaged arm, she looked on her lap in thought. "...must've been something they did that gave me these injuries..." Touching her wrapped head, she added, "Maybe they did do an experiment that made me have memory loss...but what else they did to hurt my face and arms and back..."_

_Dawn turned her face from Canard which made him blink in concern. She thought about the heroics efforts of Canard, coming in to her cell and freeing her, thinking at first she was just an experimented on Duck but to see he was mistaken and yet he... "You knew from me I wasn't a Duck like you..." she said softly, half-turning to him, "and you helped me, anyway?"_

_"Well, of course," he replied. "I couldn't just let you stay in there so they can torture you again."_

_"You mean, even though I'm a different creature, you still saved my life?" she questioned._

_"Yeah, what, you wouldn't help a different creature, too?" he asked._

_"Oh, yes, I would," she answered straight forwardly, facing him, "It's just a surprise to find another person like that. You see, where I'm from, most humans would be too scared to go near people such as yourselves because you're different." Moving her eyes from his, she added darkly, "People back on Earth have a problem accepting those who aren't like them."_

_Canard tilted his in confusion at her remark and said, "But you yourself don't have that problem?"_

_"No..." she shook her head. "Why should we be treated differently just because we look unusual? So if it was me who found a person like you, I would've saved ya, too."_

_Canard smiled at her response, saying, "At least Earth has one human who understands."_

_"Yeah, and I'm sure there are others who are a little like me, too," she assured, "They're just rare and hard to find in my world... But on this planet, you'd all welcome people from any world no matter what they look like?"_

_"Of course, we're not judgmental like that...as long as they don't take over our world," he muttered._

_Dawn looked with sympathy, feeling very sorry for these Ducks who lost their home to a lizard conqueror. "How well is this war going?" she asked._

_"We're still looking for more recruits to give us a hand," he explained, "The people with the best and useful skills."_

_"Yeah, like...?" she began to ask, then thought of something. "Hang on, does anyone else know I'm here...wherever here is?" _

_"You're in a Resistance hideout," he answered, "And the only ones who know you're here are my friends Suzette and Dr. Beakin. We weren't sure what to tell the others yet so we thought we'd wait until you woke up."_

_"So what part of the hideout am I at?"_

_"The farthest room away from the others," he replied. "The only ones who are allowed to come in here are Dr. Beakin', Suzette, and me. Hang on, let me go get them. They'll be happy to meet you and see you're up."_

_The tanned Duck left her alone, trying to make sense of all this. "Okay, Dawn, you're on another planet of alien Ducks whose home got stolen by a race of evil alien lizards who took you prisoner and did something that not only whipped you and possibly slapped you really hard on the face, they did something to make you lose your memory of what happened to you before you woke up in that cell..._

_"So...now a Duck named Canard who saved your life has brought you to a hideout of the Resistance who are currently at war with the Saurians..." A moment of pause and she said, "Definitely the weirdest day of my life." At that comment, she leaned back on her bed, only to regret when she winced from her injuries. "And the most painful," she hissed, slowly sitting up again._

_At the creak of the door opening again, she turned to see Canard who'd returned with his friends, a black-haired female Duck and a middle-aged Duck wearing a lab coat and grayish-brown hair and glasses._

_"Dawn, meet Suzette and Dr. Beakin," Canard introduced, motioning his hand to the female Duck and the elder Duck._

_"Hello," Dawn greeted with a wave and a small smile._

_"Hi," Suzette waved back as she and the doctor walked up to her._

_"It's good to see you're up and around," Dr. Beakin said. "How are you feeling?"_

_"Well, other than this mega migraine and sore bruise and searing painful whips that make it hard for me to move, I feel dandy," she replied sarcastically._

_"Well, at least she has a sense of humor," Dr. Beakin commented to his comrades who both nodded with grins._

* * *

"Wait a minute," Tanya interrupted. "You met Dr. Beakin?" she asked Dawn, the rider, curiously.

"Sure did," Dawn replied. "I believe he's a teacher of yours."

"And Suzette?" Grin added in amazement.

"Yes, your cousin," Dawn answered to the giant Duck, indicating to both him and Tanya. "They told me all about you guys. It was them who'd treated my wounds when Canard brought me to the hideout."

She was taking a short moment's pause with a small smile. "Those three were the best company I could ask for back then," she said softly.

When she said that, Wildwing blinked in wonder. She sounded so...sincere about her friendship with his best friend as well as Tanya's teacher and Grin's cousin.

"Anyway," Dawn spoke, resuming her story...

* * *

_"Hey, the best way to make the pain easier is to laugh it off," Dawn said matter-o-factly, "Where I'm from, doctors agree that medicine is the best kind of medicine...which I'm gonna need a lot of to heal."_

_"Don't worry, the doctor says you'll be okay," Suzette assured her, indicating the good doctor._

_"Mm-hmm," Dr. Beakin nodded in reassurance, "the bruise will heal shortly and the injuries on your back and arms will take maybe over a week until you don't feel much pain. Your head, well, honestly, your head will be fine, but I'm surprised that you woke up so soon since last night after a terrible head trauma like that. I'd assumed you'd be out for a few days, but thankfully that wasn't the case. Although, I'll keep checking on your injuries often until they heal."_

_Dawn nodded gratefully at him, then blinked awkwardly when the doctor looked closely with a hand on his chin. "Um, is there something else about my head I should know?" she asked._

_"Oh, sorry for staring," he apologized, keeping back, "It's just that seeing a human, according to what Canard told us from your story, is an unusual thing. I mean, we've never seen one before."_

_"Well, if it makes us even, I've never seen unusual Ducks such as yourselves, either," she remarked gently, "Where I'm from, the ducks there are animals that don't wear clothes or talk."_

_"Really?" Suzette asked in amazement._

_"Yeah, you wouldn't want to be like your Earthling cousins," Dawn teased._

_"Most definitely not," Canard said with folded arms, leaning against the door. "Being an animal and thinking like one instead of a person..."_

_"Yeah, that's really not much fun," Dawn agreed. "However, not to insult you guys or your wing spans or anything, but the ducks on my planet can fly."_

_"Oh, well, that's a little unfair," Dr. Beakin joked._

_"Yes, as Duck people, we can do everything except fly," Suzette nodded, flapping her hands mockingly._

_"Oh, well, you can't get everything in life," Dawn shrugged, "but all that aside, it is good to meet you all. And...well, I like to thank you all for tending to me when I needed it, especially you, Canard, since you were the one who saved me by breaking me out of that dungeon...despite what I am."_

_"We were happy to help," Dr. Beakin said, patting her shoulder gently._

_"Yes, you're a prisoner of war, just like we are," Suzette added, motioning her hands to everyone in the room._

_"Yes, if there's anyone who's involved in the Saurians' cruelty, they deserve help, too," Canard concluded._

_"So, in other words, where I'm concerned, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'?" Dawn queried._

_"Well, we wouldn't really say that," Canard denied, walking up to them, a hand on Dawn's shoulder. "but we'd like for you to consider us as your friends."_

_Dawn blinked at him and looked at Dr. Beakin and Suzette who both smiled at he and she smiled back. A hand on Canard's hand, she said, "Consider it done." Canard nodded gratefully._

_"I am curious, though," Dr. Beakin spoke up, a hand on his chin again, "We know you don't remember what happened to you, but we're still curious to know why Dragunus wanted you. We've already guessed how he took you from your world: The Dimensional Portal, the same device he used to bring himself and his army here."_

_"The question is: Why take someone like yourself and bring you to Puck World?" Suzette asked._

_"Do you have a special talent or a skill that may be useful to an overlord like him?" Canard questioned._

_Dawn shook her head. "No, no skill that would help a power hungry psychopath in any way."_

_"But there must be something about you he wanted," Dr. Beakin insisted. "He wouldn't take a prisoner, torture and experiment on her, and lock her up in an isolated dungeon for nothing."_

_Dawn looked away, knowing the doctor had a point, touching her wounded arms sadly. Canard noticed her troubled look and cleared his throat to ask the doctor to please be careful about saying the words torture and experiment._

_"Oh, I'm sorry, Dawn," the doctor soothed, gently patting her arm._

_"It's okay, doctor," Dawn assured, having a moment's pause. "I would like to know what he'd want from a human like me... More than anything, I'd like to know how he knows about Earth."_

_"That's another good question," Suzette agreed._

_"Well, we'll find out somehow," Canard comforted Dawn, "Until then, you'll be safe from the Saurians if you stay here."_

_"Okay," Dawn nodded, "but what about the others in the Resistance? Shouldn't we let them know about me?"_

_"It may not be the best thing to do," Canard objected, shaking his head. His three friends looked at him in confusion, wondering why ever not._

* * *

"You see, Canard felt it'd be better if I was kept secret for my sake. It wasn't that he couldn't trust you all or anything. It's just that he thought if I was that important for Dragunus to kidnap and experiment on and hidden from the world, that lizard'd do anything to find me again. Even if he couldn't find the Resistance hideout, he still thought better safe than sorry.

"Personally, I thought it'd be good to tell you all. I mean, you guys deserved to be let in on the truth and Suzette and Dr. Beakin agreed, but Canard highly recommended we'd wait a while. So reluctantly, we gave in to his wishes for now.

"So in the mean time, I had to stay in the room, but Canard, Suzette, and the doctor would come and visit me to give me food, water, and talk to me. I still wished I could be allowed to walk out and about, but I kept quiet about it for a little while. Two months later, Canard and the others had a surprise for me..."

* * *

_Dawn was busy working on her exercises as usual, wanting to stay in shape. Thankfully, after a few weeks of rest and recuperation, the wounds on her arms and back felt better so she could move easier without wincing every time she moved._

_Secretly, she'd been trying to make herself stronger and agile. In fact, when Canard wasn't present, she'd ask Suzette to teach her self-defense should she run into any Saurian and Drone someday. Suzette agreed and both the girls and Dr. Beakin kept it a secret from Canard, afraid he may not like the idea._

_Actually, for a while, Dawn had confided in Suzette and Dr. Beakin that she'd like to leave the room and meet the others in the Resistance and at least give a hand in things. She wasn't asking to fight in battles with them. Just tend to the those who've been rescued from the camps. While they understood her feeling cooped up and wanting to be of assistance, they kept reminded her over and over again of what Canard might feel._

_Still, Dawn wanted to be of some help to her friends. After all, as they said months ago, anyone who's involved with the Saurians' tyranny, deserves help and these poor feathered souls deserved it._

_As she was working out, she heard her door opening and she turned to see her three friends entering in the room. "This is an early visit," Dawn observed. "Short day?"_

_"Actually, we've discovered something you might be interested in," Canard confessed, revealing a black-and-blue douffle bag from behind his back._

_"Hey, that's..." Dawn began to say, recognizing the bag._

_"We found this in a Saurian landfill, looking to see what machine parts they'd thrown away so we could salvage them and use them to our advantage," Canard explained, "You know, one person's trash is another person's refuge. I came across this thing and found a name tag on it that had your name on it. I smuggled it here secretly 'cause I knew you'd want it."_

_Canard gently put the bag down in front of the red-haired human for her to bend down and unzip the bag, revealing the contents._

_"What's in it?" Suzette asked curiously._

_Dawn pulled out a hairbrush, a phone in a pink and black-striped case, a rectangular device in a purple case with hearts and butterflies, two books one red and yellow and a bigger one plain yellow, a case to hold her glasses, a few packages of food, a water canteen, and a first-aid kit._

_"I can't believe all my bag came with me in this world..." Dawn spoke softly as she looked at her belongings. "These are the things I'd take with me when I go camping by myself outside of town in the woods," she explained, "I didn't think I'd see them here of all places."_

_"But if these are items that came from Earth, why did the Saurians throw them away?" Dr. Beakin wondered._

_"Maybe because they thought they were useless," Dawn figured. "From what you've told me about your technology as well as theirs, the stuff on my planet are practically antiques, but I still can't believe these things got here along with me."_

_"So if you'd pack these things when you'd go sleep in the outdoors, does that mean the last thing you did on Earth was stay in the woods?" Suzette guessed._

_"That has to be it..." Dawn replied quietly, her eyes closed in thought, "Let me think..."_

_"Now, Dawn, please be careful," Dr. Beakin warned her, "Don't think too hard to remember or your head will hurt again." She still couldn't remember what happened to her on Earth when the Saurians abducted her and it'd still hurt her if she tried._

_Dawn nodded and thought back carefully... "I think I remember wandering in the wilderness alone...and then... That was it. I don't know where I stopped to rest before I woke up in that dungeon cell."_

_"So the Saurians found you on your own and pulled you here along with your bag," Canard deduced._

_"And threw my stuff away, but kept me..." Dawn concluded...remembering when she was trapped and tied up and hurt in that cell. Canard saw the sadness in her eyes and put a hand on her shoulder, asking her not to think about it. Dawn sighed and put a hand on his in gratitude._

_Dr. Beakin wanted to change the subject and asked curiously, pointing to the pink and black phone in her right hand, "So what is that, anyway?"_

_"It's my cell phone," she answered, holding it up, then held up the other device that was in a purple case, "And this is my iPod. It's a little gadget that has songs, pictures, a camera and recorder, a calendar, a note pad, and other features. But like I said, compared to your advanced toys, these things are ancient."_

_"What are those books?" Suzette asked, picking them up._

_"That red and yellow book is an almanac," Dawn explained, "It explains a lot about my planet. The animals, the plants, the places, the different people living there, science and history, all sorts of interesting facts and stuff."_

_"Really?" Dr. Beakin asked, holding the almanac, getting very fascinated at this book that held Earth's knowledge._

_"Yes, and that other book," Dawn said, pointing to the bigger yellow book that Suzette was still holding, "is very precious to me. The knowledge in that one are really important."_

_"Could you explain more?" Canard asked as all three Ducks sat down._

_"Be happy to," Dawn said, beckoning Suzette to hand her the yellow book and told them the history of Earth..._

* * *

"So for three months, I've read to them the stuff from my books and they were amazed at what they learned...in more ways than one..." Dawn smiled and closed her eyes in thought at those good times of teaching her friends which made Wildwing curious.

Dawn opened her eyes and went on, "And I'd show them the pictures from my iPod and they were impressed with my planet's beautiful landscapes and animals that they've never seen and I'd play for them the songs in my iPod which really cheered them up and it made me very happy.

"Actually, because they felt better, it made me want to meet the others in the Resistance more than ever because I wanted to share with them what I shared with Canard, Suzette, and Dr. Beakin, so they could find learn things they never learned in life before...and have new hope in their hearts. So one day..."

* * *

_Dawn leaned her hands against the wall and took a deep breath. This was the day. She was going to ask Canard. She'd rehearsed what she was going to say to him to persuade him to let her walk out of this room and meet the others._

_She prayed that he'd hear her out and say yes. She wanted so badly to get to know the others and share with them the stuff from her world so they could discover all sorts of wonderful things that they never learned before._

_Finally, at the time she expected, Canard and Suzette and Dr. Beakin stepped in and explained to her the good news about the recruits they found to help in the Resistance._

_"So your student Tanya and your cousin Grin are helpin'," Dawn said to the doctor and Suzette who nodded._

_"They've got the skills that could really be appreciated," Dr. Beakin spoke up, a hint of pride at the thought of his best student helping out, Suzette nodding in agreement, smiling that her favorite cousin was going to lend a hand as well._

_"Not to mention, Mallory McMallard, the Resistance general's daughter," Canard added. "And the ex-thief Duke L'Orange," he concluded, his wings folded, still not believing a former criminal would help the good guys._

_"Sounds like things are starting to take a turn for the better," Dawn pronounced positively sitting on her bed, her fingers twiddling, itching to tell Canard. "But you know...have you thought that maybe you'd need other people needing help taking care of the people you've rescued from the camps?" she suggested, "You know, to help serve them food, help keep things clean, and things like that?"_

_"I suppose having some more people to help take care of the others wouldn't be a bad thing," Canard answered, then asked suspiciously, "Why do you ask?"_

_"Well, I was thinking that maybe you could find a volunteer who'd be more than glad to lend a hand in any way...she can," Dawn said hesitantly, "Not a bad idea, right?" she asked hopefully with a nervous smile._

_"Wrong," Canard answered flat out, waving his hands, "It's a very bad idea. You know you have to stay here."_

_"But, Ca, I think it'd be okay," Dawn insisted. "The others are trustworthy so I know they won't let word get out I'm here and as long as I stay in the hideout building itself, what could happen?"_

_"It's still not a good idea," Canard disagreed._

_"What's not a good idea? Telling everyone the truth, giving you all extra hands to help you, and try to cheer everyone up about this war going out there?" she challenged, pointing the door to the outside world that was still in chaos. "Talking to and learning stuff from me is what made you all feel so much better and I want to give that sort of feeling to others, too. They deserve it, Canard."_

_"I'm not saying they don't deserve to feel better," Canard tried to reason, "I just don't think we should risk it, that's all."_

_"Risk what? I'm askin' to leave the room, not the Resistance hideout. I'm not askin' to fight in your army, Canard, I'm askin' to meet the others and help out and make them happy. Please, Can, I think we should consider it."_

_"And suppose one day something bad happens and one of the Saurians finds you again? Isn't that something we should consider?" Canard demanded, his wings folded._

_"I can defend myself," she persisted._

_"Hey, maybe you don't remember your encounter with the Saurians, but if you did try to defend yourself that day, it obviously didn't work out, did it?" Canard countered._

_"I'm strong enough," Dawn protested._

_"What do you mean strong enough?" Canard asked, his hands on his hips._

_Dawn looked away, not knowing how to explain, but Suzette spoke up and confessed, "Actually, I may have...taught her some self-defense moves...without you knowing."_

_"What?" Canard questioned in disbelief. He looked at Dr. Beakin if he knew and when the doctor looked away, Canard was dismayed and looked at everyone in the room. "You all planned this?"_

_"Not all, just me. They knew I've been meaning to ask you if I could leave the room," Dawn explained, "but they kept warning me you'd decline, but I thought about askin', anyway."_

_"And how long has been Suzette been teaching you?" Canard asked, agitation in his voice._

_"For five months," Dawn answered shyly, "Come on, Can, I think we've kept the truth from the others long enough. Please, let me meet your people."_

_"No, Dawn, you are staying here where you're safe," he ordered firmly._

_"What gives you right to tell me what to do?" Dawn challenged, "No one put you in charge of me."_

_"No, but I did save your life if I remember correctly," Canard reminded her. "So I think you owe me by doing what I say."_

_"Oh, so because you saved me, I'm yours to boss around," Dawn accused._

_"I don't mean it like that, I'm just saying I'm responsible for you and..." Canard began to say, but Dawn interrupted._

_"Look, I'm grateful to you for savin' my life and I always will be," she told him sincerely, but kept her eyes locked, "but I'm not some helpless little child, and I want to help everyone around here. Why should I stay in hiding when you all could use extra help?"_

_"My answer is still no, Dawn," Canard said, not knuckling under._

_"Please, Canard, there's so much I can teach..." Dawn began to plead, but Canard interrupted._

_"I said no and I mean no!" Canard snapped, surprising everyone in the room. "You're staying here until I say it's safe for you to leave!"_

_Everyone stared mouth and beak agape at his forced words and Dawn looked very hurt which made Canard blink, realizing he'd been too hard. "Dawn, I..." he started to say, reaching for her, but she moved away from his wings and ran into the bathroom and closed the door._

_"Dawn," Canard called, going up to the door, turning the knob, but found that it was locked. "Dawn, please open this door," he beckoned, knocking on the door, but received no answer._

_Canard sighed and leaned against the door in exasperation. Suzette and Dr. Beakin looked at each other and the good doctor stood up and suggested, "Why don't we all take a little breather for a moment?" He took Canard by the shoulder and lead him out of the room and nodded to Suzette who nodded in understanding._

_As soon as the boys left and closed the door behind them, Suzette looked at the bathroom door and knocked. "Dawn, the guys are gone," she called, but there was no reply. "Come on, Dawn, come out." Another moment's silence and the black-haired Duck warned, "If you don't come out, I'll get one of Dr. Beakin's tools and unlock this door myself and drag you out."_

_Knowing she meant what she said, Dawn opened the door and stepped out and sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes fixed on the floor. "I made him mad," she said softly._

_Suzette looked with an understanding smile and sat down next to her, a wing over her shoulder in reassurance._

_"You guys kept telling me he'd say no..." Dawn said, eyes still fixed on the ground, "...I just thought if I waited long enough and train with you hard enough..." She sighed, a hand over her face. "That'll teach me to think."_

_"He's just scared for you, Dawn," Suzette consoled, "Personally, I think it'd be good for you to at least leave the room, but remain in the hideout, but I guess Canard is that unsure."_

_Dawn just blinked, not responding. "You know, he was very worried about you when he brought you here," Suzette told her. "And who could blame him? You were in really bad shape."_

_The red-haired human didn't need anyone to reminder of that. She scars from the whips of some kind still marked her arms and back which made her flinch every time she saw them._

_Suzette continued, "And after the doctor and I treated you and put you in here, he stayed by your bed side for quite a long time."_

_Now that she mentioned it, Dawn did remember someone stroking her hair a bit, making her feel comfortable and safe...and yet she wondered..._

_"Why?" she asked, hugging her knees, her heels touching the edge of her bed, "I mean, it's not that I think it was wrong of him to care... It's just that, all he knew about me was my name that day and nothing else."_

_"Well, he felt responsible..._still _feels responsible," Suzette corrected, "He was the one who saved you and not only that, he was curious about you just like the doctor and I were... And when we learned that you couldn't remember how the Saurians took or even remember seeing them or what they did to you to hurt you so badly, Canard just wanted to make sure a torment like would never happen to you again." _

_Dawn thought for a moment and she put herself in Canard's place for a moment: If she'd met a person in her situation, then she might felt protective of them, too... And scared for them..._

_"I guess I can understand," Dawn confessed quietly, "but still...that doesn't mean I should be a secret from your friends whom I still think deserve to know the truth..."_

_"Honestly, we think so, too," Suzette agreed, "And there are a lot of things you can to make everyone feel better like you've done with the boys and me..."_

_Dawn looked longingly at the door where Canard and the doctor left and wondered how Canard was feeling. "Right now, I wish I could make Can feel better," she murmured. "Not only did I push him to lose his cool, I also snapped at him, calling him the boss of me just for saving me..."_

_"Well, maybe you can make him feel better," Suzette reassured with a small smile._

_Dawn nodded. Whether or not she could go out of the room safely, she didn't want to lose a friend who'd been good to her for so long._

_After a while, Suzette left Dawn alone in her bedroom and the human red-head was lying on her bed, had her back turned to the wall, her face buried in her pillow, wondering what to say to Canard. She suddenly looked up when she heard the doorknob turned and looked in surprise to see it was Dr. Beakin who'd come alone this time._

_The good doctor greeted the girl with a smile and waved at her. "Hey, there," he greeted nicely, closing the door behind him and walked towards her. "You all right?"_

_"Yeah," she answered, sitting up, her arms wrapped around her pillow, "just tryin' to figure out how to apologize to Canard after that...disagreement."_

_Dr. Beakin blinked in understanding and sat down next to her, his wing around her shoulder. "Yes, he's trying to figure out what to say to you, too. He feels like he really hurt your feelings yelling at you like that."_

_"Well, it was my fault," Dawn proclaimed, "I'm the one who pushed him..."_

_"Well, I can't say I blame you for asking him to get out of here," the doctor sympathized, "even though Suzette and I kept warning you constantly that he'd deny it. After all, being stuck in here can make a person a bit stir crazy, especially for someone who's used to getting out."_

_"It's not myself I want to help," Dawn explained, "it's the others who are also suffering from this war. I mean, you guys, even though you deserve it comfort, too, are the only ones I can make feel better while everyone else out there is depressed and miserable from all this. I just want to give to them what I've been givin' to you three..."_

_The doctor rubbed her shoulder in assurance and murmured, "Can't say that's a wrong thing to think about... Personally, as you know, from what you've told us, meeting the others does sound like a good thing for everyone...but Canard, he's just very frightened for your well being and you know what fear can do to a person. It clouds their judgment and makes them do strange things..."_

_Dawn knew it was true, but still, Canard didn't have to fear for her this much as long as she stays put in the hideout itself like she told him... "I'd still like to apologize for pushin' him, though," she said quietly._

_"Well, I could go find him," the good doctor offered._

_"Would you?" she asked hopefully._

_"Sure, hang on," he said, getting up and leaving the room. As Dawn sat waiting, she thought what to say to Canard for being rude to him and for making him so angry._

_Her heart almost stopped in surprise when she heard the door at last open and saw her tanned feathered friend, looking a bit...afraid to be in there as he stepped in and closed the door behind him. He looked up at her and gave a small wave. "Hey."_

_"Hey," she waved back, looking just as nervous now that he'd arrived. Both were quiet for a minute which like forever and after a tense moment, they both began to speak up, but stopped._

_"You first," Dawn invited._

_"Dawn, I..." Canard started, trying to find the right words...rubbing the back of his neck, "I..."_

_"It's okay, Canard," Dawn reassured with a raised hand. "It was my fault that you got mad. I do want to apologize for acting like you were the boss... I know you're just concerned for me..." she went on, stroking her finger on her pillow, "I just want you to trust me..."_

_Canard stepped forward and gently took her hand that made her look up at him. "Dawn, I do trust you," he told her softly, "And I know you just want to help in any way you can..." He paused, wondering what else to say..._

_"Can..." Dawn said, getting his attention, "I know this fight is not mine and this planet is yours...but that doesn't mean I don't care about you or your people... And I'm not askin' to be a hero and join in your Resistance... I just want to meet the others and tell them the good things they deserve to know...the good things you and Suzette and Dr. Beakin know that are helping you feel stronger and braver...and more hopeful."_

_Canard gently squeezed her hand and said in a clear voice, "I know that's what you want to do, Dawn, and believe me, it's what I want you to do for the others, too... They do deserve to know things to feel better and have better hope that we can free our world... And I do trust you, like I said, it's just...I don't trust the Saurians..."_

_Canard's eyes were closed and he was quiet when he recalled what happened when he found Dawn. "When I saw you, despite you were different from me, and you passed out after telling me your name, I was so afraid I'd lost you and that I was too late to save you...but when I knew you were still alive, I was very relieved and told myself there was still a chance for you yet."_

_He grinned at the thought her holding on long enough for her to be taken to Dr. Beakin who was helped by Suzette to treat her wounds and opened his eyes to her as he continued. "The three of us were glad you were going to be okay, but we hoped you'd wake up soon so we could help you..."_

_He put a hand on her cheek and said, "And I promised that I'd keep you safe from the Saurians no matter what so they couldn't do that sort of thing to you again."_

_Dawn smiled, touched by his words and gently took his hand from her face, holding both hands. "Can, you know I'll always appreciate your brotherly concern...but I'm not a weak person, you know."_

_"I know you're not," Canard assured, "and I trust you...I'd still like it if you trusted me..."_

_Dawn blinked in thought, knowing he was asking her to stay put again. She took a deep breath and said, "I can only stay in here for so long..."_

_"I know," he replied quickly, gripping her hands, looking desperate for her cooperation, "...but please, just wait until the time is right... That's all I ask..."_

_Dawn still disagreed with this...but she saw how his heart and mind was set for her to be safe..._

_"Okay, Canard, okay," she nodded. "I'll wait until the time is right..."_

_Canard smiled and embraced her. "Thank you," he whispered, "And don't worry...you don't have to be in here for too long."_

_Dawn hugged him back, grateful that they made amends...but even though she does trust Canard, she wondered if he was right about her not having to be in the room for too long..._

_She told herself he said she should wait until the time was right...and she will...but she felt that _she_ would be the one who would know the right time... She just prayed that Canard wouldn't be angry with her if and when she has to take things in her own hands..._

* * *

(**Hey, guys, I'm sorry y'all have to deal with a part 1, but this chapter was gettin' too long to roll in one whole page for me to type, so I hope y'all can be patient until I get part 2 written the next time I update. Until then, God bless and if you have suggestions, please review. Thank you.**)


	5. Exposition and an Addition part 2

**Chapter 4: Exposition and an Addition part 2**

"So, Canard and I made up," Dawn continued, "which the four of us were grateful for...and things were still the same with us..." Her eyes looked sad when she thought about the next part of the story. "Until one day, three weeks later...was the last day we would be together..."

* * *

_Canard and Suzette and Dr. Beakin came to Dawn to show her something which would hopefully be the answer to their problems. Canard took out from a shoulder-strip bag a white duck-shaped goalie mask._

_"It's the Mask of Drake DuCaine," Canard told Dawn whose eyes were wide with amazement._

_"No way, this is the legendary Mask that helped your planet's hero save your world from the Saurians centuries back?" Dawn asked, her eyes still glued at the ancient goalie Mask in Canard's hand._

_"That's right," Canard nodded, "This Mask helped Drake find the Saurians hideout...and it's helped us find Dragunus's hideout now."_

_"Really?" Dawn said, not believing her ears. "Where is he?"_

_"At Twin Beak Mountains," he replied, putting the Mask away, "That means..." he said not knowing how to put it._

_Dawn had a pretty good guess and said softly, "You're leaving to fight him now..."_

_Canard nodded firmly. "I've already got Wildwing and Nosedive to join," he informed, "The others are coming, too. We'll defeat him once and for all..."_

_He'd expected Dawn to be hopeful, but instead, Dawn touched her arm, looking...worried. "Dawn?"_

_"I have a bad feeling," she murmured, gripping her arm, "I have a feeling somethin' is gonna go wrong..."_

_"No, it won't," Canard assured her, "We'll beat him. And when we do, we'll finally get back what's been taken from us." He motioned to the doctor and Suzette, "We'll get back our planet," then he pointed to Dawn, "and when we get the Dimensional Portal, we'll send you back to Earth."_

_Dawn still looked doubtful, her eyes cast down on the floor... "You guys have never fought or even seen Dragunus..." And he was acting like they could easily win, she finished in her mind. Her instincts were telling her that things were not going to go according to plan..._

_"True," Canard agreed, "but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. This is the chance we've been waiting for at long last..."_

_And what if it's your last chance, she wondered._

_"Canard," Dr. Beakin spoke in a warning tone, "while this is a very good opportunity to be rid of the Saurians forever, you musn't get overconfident about a victory you haven't achieved yet. Dragunus is without a doubt dangerous and one wrong move could lead to ruin."_

_"He's right, Canard," Suzette agreed, a hand on the tanned-feathered Duck's shoulder. "You have to be very careful with him and his followers and whatever else you'll find in there."_

_"We will, we will," Canard vowed, gripping Suzette's hand, "...but we'll do whatever it takes to stop them and free ourselves from them..." His friends still looked troubled by the thought of him and his team going off to fight Dragunus, fearing that they'd never come back alive._

_Canard understood their worries. This was going to be a dangerous mission, they knew...but he knew that they had to try. Canard pulled Suzette in for a hug and felt her returning the embrace. "Will you wait for me?" he murmured._

_"Mm-hmm," Suzette nodded, trying to fight back the tears. "I will," she promised._

_Canard let go of her, giving her a last smile, softly stroking her face and went over to the good doctor who gave him a hug. "Take care of them for me," Canard whispered quietly, so the girls wouldn't hear, "only_

_if something happens."_

_"Be happy to," he agreed, patting the younger drake's back, letting him go._

_Canard stood in front of Dawn who still held on to her arm and looked down at the floor. She was very frightened by this... Sure, she never went to war, but she read about it and not everyone comes back to tell about it..._

_"Dawn," he said gently, reaching a hand under her chin, pointing her head up to look at him. "It'll be all right, you'll see," he assured her. "Once the Saurians are gone, you can safely come out and meet everyone. That's what you've wanted, right?"_

_Dawn nodded slowly. She's always wanted to meet the others and make friends with them...but she hated the idea of losing a well-known friend. Canard grinned at the little human he saved and looked after and brought her in for a hug._

_At first, Dawn felt heartbroken from the hug which could've been the last, but she embraced the person whom she thought of as a brother. "Heaven help you on your mission," she whispered._

_"Thank you," he replied, "and when I come back, I'm gonna let Wildwing and Nosedive be the first to meet you, especially Wildwing. You remind me of him a little bit."_

_"I'd love that and I'm honored for the compliment," she said sincerely. She'd be more than glad to meet the brothers she'd heard so much about._

_Canard gently pulled himself from her and looked at Suzette and Dr. Beakin who both nodded, knowing it was time for him and his team to be off. Canard smiled at Dawn, gave her a good pat on her shoulder and waved a farewell to her, getting a farewell wave back._

_She watched them leave and the second the door was closed, a tear fell down her eye. She hoped with all her heart he was right about him coming back safely. "Take care...my brother."_

* * *

"After you guys left for Twin Beak, we waited and waited and waited. At first, we thought..." Dawn said, looking at the floor, looking fearful. "We thought you guys were all done for...until finally, someone had intel that you guys followed Dragunus through a Dimensional Portal in his aircraft in your Aerowing.

"We wondered constantly where you were, if you were all right. We wondered and worried for a month in a half after you all disappeared... And then one day...a small boy changed everything in the Resistance forever..."

* * *

_Dawn sat on her bed alone in her room, playing one of her songs on her iPod Walk On The Water by Britt Nicole. The song would usually lift up her spirits as it did for Canard and Suzette and Dr. Beakin._

_She smiled, remembering the happy times the four friends had hearing these songs, sometimes singing along and Dawn remembered watching Canard and Suzette dancing together and singing a male and female duet. They were the best partners in Dawn's opinion. But now that Canard and the others were missing, things felt lonely and sort of empty now..._

_"Canard, where are you?" she whispered, hugging her knees. She knew something was going to go wrong... She knew it... Now she and Suzette and the doctor were waiting every day about him and his team... "What are you all doing now? Are you still fighting Dragunus? Are you looking for a way back?" She sighed, burying her face in her knees._

_Suddenly, Dawn lifted her head up at the sound of footsteps coming towards the door. At first, she thought if it was Suzette and Dr. Beakin coming to visit her early, but when she saw the shadow underneath the door and waited for the person to open the door, she tilted her head, wondering why they were hesitating._

_They never did before. What are they waiting for? Then Dawn began to wonder about something... What if it's...? Nah, it couldn't be... No one but Suzette and Dr. Beakin...and Canard comes here. And yet..._

_Dawn didn't know why, but she turned up the volume on her iPod for the person behind her door to hear better. While the song kept playing, she slowly and quietly got off her bed and carefully walked towards the wall next to the door, waiting to see what she'd learn._

_She brought her ear to the door as close as she could not letting herself be seen underneath the door and she could hear a voice that belonged to a young person. "Wow, what a pretty song."_

_Dawn blinked in alarm. That was neither Suzette or Dr. Beakin's voice. This person, a child she knew, had found her in her own little hideout. At first, Dawn didn't know what to do. Suppose he'd try to open the door to see who was inside and tell the others..._

_Then an idea came in her head. What if she was the chance she'd been waiting for? To be discovered and let everyone know of her being here... She could finally meet the others. However, she reminded herself of what Canard said about her being hidden... Then again, she also reminded herself that he asked her to stay until the right was right and she agreed to it... And she agreed she herself would know until the said time was right._

_She knew Suzette and Dr. Beakin would be upset for taking things in her own hands like that...and if Canard was here, he'd the most upset... But...something told her that waiting and hiding was over. The Saurians disappeared along with their leader...and so had Canard and his team... She didn't know exactly what would happen to her when she revealed herself to this young intruder...but at least, at long last, she could finally be free of this room and maybe be of some help._

_With a quiet sigh and her mind made up, she nodded and waited the second the song was over and quickly opened the door. From what she could see below her was indeed a child, a little Duck boy about 9 or 10 with dark gray feathers and short black hair wearing a raggedy white shirt and gray pants._

_The boy looked up at her and his eyes were wide in shock. She knew it was because of what she looked like, but she didn't make any sudden moves that would scare him. She just leaned on the door frame casually, trying to make this up as she went along._

_"Well, hello there," she greeted calmly to the astonished little boy. "I thought there was someone eavesdropping at my door."_

_She waited for a response from him, but he just kept staring with his beak hanging open. "It's not polite to stare, you know?" she told him, then she added in a slight lecturing manner, "and I believe you're not allowed over here, am I right?"_

_"N...no..." he answered slowly, shaking his head._

_He didn't seem scared, just completely surprised, which was better than being frightened Dawn thought._

_"How'd you get in here?" she asked trying to make conversation._

_"I...I waited until there was no one at the door at the end of the hall..." he explained, pointing to the stretching hallway from them, not keeping his eyes off her. "Me and a few kids..."_

_"Pardon me, sir, but it's 'A few kids and I,'" she corrected with a raised finger, "but please go on."_

_"A few kids and me...," the boy said, changing his words for her, "...keep seeing Suzette and Dr. Beakin come through that door to this hall and we got curious. They never tell us what's over here, so..."_

_"So you decided to sneak in here to see, huh?" Dawn finished. The little boy nodded. "Well, young sir, you've made a discovery. Now don't be afraid, I'm not gonna hurt your or anything. Although, Suzette and Dr. Beakin are going to be upset you're over here. No one else but them are supposed to know about me."_

_He was curious to know why, but he had to ask, "Wh...what are you?"_

_"I'm not a new type of Duck, just so you know," she replied, "Or any kind of bird, for that matter. No beak and feathers, as you can see. I'm a human."_

_"A human?" he repeated, tilting his head._

_"Yeah, you wouldn't know about humans because I'm the only human ever on Puck World."_

_"You mean, you're from someplace else?" he asked in wonder._

_"Yeah, as in from another planet. It's called Earth and I know you've never heard of it, either."_

_"Uh-uh," he answered. "Is it far away?"_

_"It has to be if no one's heard of it."_

_"But how'd you get here on our planet?"_

_"To be honest, I don't really know," she confessed looking away. "I woke up as a prisoner of the Saurians in one of their dungeon cells...and my head was in so much pain that I lost all memory of how I got here and why the Saurians took me away from my home planet."_

_"But how'd you escape?" he asked, getting more curious than afraid._

_"You ever heard of a guy named Canard?"_

_"Yeah," he nodded eagerly, "He's one of the people who helped some of us get here and disappeared with his team to fight Dragunus."_

_"Yes," she said, sad at that subject, "he was the one who found me in that dungeon and got me out and brought me here. He never told you guys because... Well, he thought it'd be best for my safety if no one knew of me besides Suzette and Dr. Beakin... It wasn't that he didn't trust the rest of you guys... It was just... Let's just say he was scared of the idea of the Saurians finding me again."_

_"But how can they find you?" he spoke up, "They've never found us here and so how could they find you here with us?"_

_"A very good question, little man," she agreed, "I once asked Canard before he disappeared if I could leave, but he still...preferred I stay hidden...at least until the Saurians were gone for good and then I can come out and meet you all. To be honest, I thought it'd be better and fair to you all if you knew the truth about me... I mean, I really didn't see why we should keep secrets from you._

_"So when I heard someone lurking at my door and spying..." she went on in a lecturing tone, which made him look down in shame, "I thought I'd take the golden opportunity to reveal myself."_

_"Why? Canard wanted you to stay hidden."_

_"Yes...but...he and I both agreed I'd stay in hiding until the time was right for me to come out... Well, now's the time."_

_"So does that mean you're leaving this room?" he asked, standing up._

_"Yes..." she answered softly, thinking about the decision she was making, "...although...I've always been in this room...so it's a little hard for me to leave..."_

_"Are you afraid?"_

_"I am nervous," she admitted, "The others have never seen me yet, so..."_

_"Do Canard and Suzette and Dr. Beakin like you?"_

_"Yes, they do. They're all good friends of mine."_

_"And you like them?"_

_"Yes...very much..." she answered quietly._

_The boy took the human's hand and said simply, "Well, if you like them and they like you, then the others will like you, too."_

_"You really think so?" she asked him._

_"Uh-huh," he nodded._

_He seemed to have courage, Dawn thought. After all, he forced himself all the way in here. She didn't...distrust his judgment...but she did make the choice of leaving the room and this boy has already seen her._

_"...Okay, then, let's go," she announced._

_The boy nodded and started leading the way down the hall. "By the way, I'm Dawn. And you are?"_

_"I'm Bryan Ashfeather," he answered._

_"Nice to meet you, Bryan," she replied. "Say, do you know a man named General McMallard? He's in charge of the Resistance."_

_"Yeah, I know him. You wanna meet him?"_

_"Meeting the leader would be the best thing to do."_

_"What about Suzette and Dr. Beakin?"_

_Yes, she had to remember them. They would be surprised to see her out...and quite mad..._

_"Well, if we see them on the way, I'll tell them about my decision," she replied, "And if you get in trouble, I'll make sure I'll stick with you so you won't be alone."_

_"Thanks," he smiled as they kept walking down the long hall. Each step they took, the more anxious Dawn felt. She was finally going to meet the Ducks she'd waited such a long time to see, but how well will everything go?_

_What felt like forever, they reached the door. As Bryan stuck his hand out for the knob, Dawn gently gripped his hand. "Wait," she said, fear lumping in her throat. "I-I'm... I'm sorry, I'm just very nervous now..."_

_Bryan didn't know much of anything about her, but while he knew she was afraid to leave, he knew she wanted very much to meet the others. "Hey, I'll stick with you so you won't be alone," he assured her positively._

_She looked at him...and smiled and nodded, making her final decision. There was no going back now and she knew it was time to go. "Okay, but..." She put the hood of her blue jacket on her head. She thought it'd be better to wait until they met the general first and then reveal her face to the others. "Now I'm ready."_

_Then Bryan turned the knob and opened the door for Dawn to see Ducks moving from one spot to another. Some eating what food they could find, older people looking after little ones, and some groups having conversations._

_Dawn took a deep breath and closed the door behind them and let Bryan lead the way to wherever the general was. As they were making their way, the Ducks noticed Bryan with a blue-hooded stranger and pointed out to her, murmuring to each other wondering who she was._

_She pulled her hood forward so make sure they didn't see her face yet. On the way, they looked up to see Suzette and Dr. Beakin._

_"Bryan, there you are," Suzette said to the little boy, her hands on her hips in a scolding manner. "We were wondering where you yet when we didn't see you with the other kids."_

_Dr. Beakin looked up to see Dawn next to her and his eyes widened in shock and tapped on Suzette's shoulder for her to look at her, too, and her eyes were widened in surprise as well._

_"Oh, no, it couldn't be..." Suzette whispered to the doctor._

_"Know anyone else who wears that kind of jacket?" Dr. Beakin murmured._

_"It's all right," Dawn reassured them, with a raised hand. "I know what I'm doing."_

_"And exactly what is it you're doing, pray tell?" Dr. Beakin asked in a hush voice, looking around nervously at the Ducks who were staring at Dawn as they murmured._

_"Do you have any idea how what a risk you're taking being out here?" Suzette added, her voice almost wanting to raise if not for the crowds looking at them._

_"Listen, I've waited long enough," Dawn reasoned, "and Canard and I both agreed I'd wait to leave until the time was right and now this is the time."_

_"This isn't what he meant and you know that," Dr. Beakin told her directly._

_"I know...but it is what we agreed," she answered calmly. "Of course, I've only made the decision when Bryan here found me."_

_"You mean, the reason he disappeared is because he snuck off to see..." Suzette began to ask, glaring at the little boy who disobeyed the orders of going into places he shouldn't, making him hide behind Dawn who put a comforting hand on his shoulder._

_"...was because he was curious to know why you guys always come in the back of the hideout all the time," Dawn finished. "He means no harm and he's agreed to lead me to General McMallard and then meet the others."_

_"You're crazy," Dr. Beakin replied, his hands on his head._

_"Maybe so," Dawn murmured, "but...I'm done with hiding. My mind is made up and it's too late for me to go back. Plus," she added quietly, looking back at the crowd and going past her two friends with Bryan's hand in hers, "after seeing me, everyone will be talking about me and asking you guys who I am, so..."_

_Leaving Suzette and Dr. Beakin behind, Dawn continued with Bryan for their search of the general. Her two friends looked after them in disbelief and looked at each other._

_"What do we do?" Suzette asked with shrug, completely baffled._

_The doctor sighed deeply in exasperation, squeezing the middle of his forehead. "The only thing we can do," he announced, slowly walking after Dawn and Bryan, "follow them and...tell the general everything."_

_Suzette groaned and came beside the good doctor, muttering, "This is going to be a very interesting day."_

_"Most definitely," Dr. Beakin agreed._

_While Bryan led the way, Dawn went over what she would say to the general, hoping to at least make a good impression...and explain how and why a human had been living within the walls of the Resistance hideout unknown to all but three for months._

_Before Dawn knew it, Bryan stopped and pronounced, "Here it is." She looked to see a door with the words "Gen. McMallard" on it._

_The human girl took a deep breath and breathed a prayer for success. "Okay, let's do this." She reached her knuckles to knock on the door, but Dr. Beakin quickly stepped in and stopped her hand from touching it._

_He chuckled nervously and suggested, "Why not let me and Suzette try to...break the ice?"_

_Dawn nodded in agreement and stood aside from the door and let Dr. Beakin knock with Suzette standing unsettlingly beside him._

_"Come in," called a deep male's voice inside the office room. Hesitantly, the two Duck adults stepped in and closed the door behind them. Dawn strained her ear to listen, feeling a little anxious._

_"Yes, Dr. Beakin and Suzette," greeted the male voice that was the general's. "Is there something wrong?"_

_"Uh..." Dawn heard her frirends began, which in their opinion was "yes."_

_"Well?" the general urged._

_"Nothing wrong, per say," Dr. Beakin started, trying to find the right words._

_"Just...well..." Suzette said, "...There's something the two..."_

_"Well, actually, three of us didn't tell you," Dr. Beakin corrected, "Canard and us two here."_

_"You see, general, over five months ago," Suzette explained, "you know how Canard went to an isolated dungeon of the Saurians', right?"_

_"Yes," the general answered, "he went in there and found no one in there."_

_"Wrong," Dr. Beakin declared reluctantly._

_"There was at least...one prisoner in there..." Suzette went on, "...on the top floor of that building, he found a wounded girl prisoner, tied up and...badly hurt."_

_"Canard untied her and carried her to safety...right here," Dr. Beakin finished._

_"What?" the general asked in surprise. "There was a prisoner in there and Canard brought her here and he and...you as well never told me? Why?"_

_Dawn was afraid of how much trouble they would be in, so she took a deep breath and bravely opened the door for her to see Dr. Beakin and Suzette standing in front of a desk with a Duck with short red hair behind it, a couple of badges on his white uniform._

_Her two friends turned in surprise at her intrusion and the general blinked in confusion, wondering who this girl was and why she came in here, not seeing her face beneath the her hood._

_"Because, General McMallard," Dawn began to explain, "there are things about me that make me different from all of you."_

_"Wait a moment, you're the prisoner whom Canard rescued?" the general queried pointing his finger at her._

_"Yes, I am," Dawn nodded, "and you see, sir, Canard couldn't tell anyone because he thought it'd be safe if no one at all except him, Suzette, and Dr. Beakin knew of my being here because he knew the Saurians would be looking for me again."_

_"Well..." the general started to say, then asked, "First of all, who are you? And why did the Saurians take you prisoner?"_

_"My name is Dawn Zureikat," she answered, feeling nervous to be in the Resistance's general's presence. Bryan stepped up behind Dawn, not being noticed by the Duck adults in the room. "And I'm afraid I don't know why the Saurians took me prisoner. I just woke up in one of their cells hurt and tied up, my head in a lot of pain which caused amnesia to make me forget how they found me and brought me here to your planet."_

_"Wait, wait, what do you mean by 'your planet'?" the general asked, leaning a hand on his desk, feeling curious by the second._

_"Because..." Dawn replied, taking off her hood, revealing her human face which made Gen. McMallard's eyes widen, "I'm not a Duck, I'm a human from a planet called Earth that's very far away from here."_

* * *

"Your dad was certainly stoked when he saw me," Dawn said to Mallory.

"Seeing a different-looking person from another planet which no one on Puck World's ever heard of, I can imagine," Mallory remarked.

"Yeah, and...well, after I explained my staying in hiding in the Resistance hideout, he was kinda upset," Dawn confessed, "I mean, there was a former prisoner of the Saurians and he and the others knew nothing of it..."

* * *

_Once Dawn was finished with her story, the general turned angrily on Suzette and Dr. Beakin and demanded, "And you've lied to us all these months about her?"_

_Dawn stepped up and stood in front of her friends, her arms spread. "Please, general, don't be angry with them," she insisted. "They agreed with Canard to keep me a secret yes, but they thought it'd be fair to tell you all the truth and so did I. I mean, why worry about my well-being and stay in a room when I could still walk around in the hideout which has never been found by the Saurians?_

_"I've even spoken to Canard to let me leave...but he was still concerned..." Dawn went on, remembering the fight before thinking about their reconciliation afterwards, "but he and I both agreed we'd wait to tell you all until the time was right. I knew he meant wait until the Saurians were finished forever..._

_Dawn's eyes saddened when she said, "And when he and your daughter Mallory and the others vanished in a Dimensional Portal after them...we waited for a while and then this kid Bryan came along." Dawn gently patted the boy's black head, making him smile, "I knew now, when he found me, the time of secrecy was over and asked him to bring me to you, so we could be honest...and..._

_"Well, general, I know this is sudden and I know I've only known three Ducks personally for the past five months, but I do care about all of you and...I'd like to be of some help around here. Not to fight in your army, but to at least tend to the people you've rescued from the slave camps, serve them food and, you know, I have devices from my world that has music and pictures that the people might like to hear and see and I have books that have fun facts about my world that'll really fascinate everyone and keep their minds off things."_

_The general was quiet, looking very doubtful and still upset that his trusted allies have been keeping secrets, but Dawn pleaded, "Please, general, I understand you feel left out not knowing I was here and because I'm different from all of you...on the outside, but I'm the same as you on the inside. There's so much about you all I want to learn and there's so much I want to show and teach to your people. Let me share myself with all of you."_

_Gen. McMallard looked at the human girl's eyes that looked sincere...and she sounded sincere... He turned his head and closed his eyes for a moment which left everyone in suspense in ten painful seconds. Finally, the general turned his head, and nodded, opening his eyes. "Very well," he agreed calmly, "you may...share yourself with us."_

* * *

"So, the general introduced me to the others in the hideout," Dawn explained.

"And how did they react when they saw a human who was livin' in hidin' for over five months?" Duke asked curiously.

"They were as shocked as Canard and Suzette and Dr. Beakin," Dawn admitted, "but most of them were very curious about my origins. Although, even though I was used to Canard, Suzette, and Dr. Beakin's company, being among a whole crowd of Ducks on another planet made me feel like an alien, really."

"Whoa, a human that feels like an alien," Nosedive remarked.

"Well, technically, when I thought about it back then, I was an alien on your world," Dawn replied, "I mean, to us here, people from other worlds are aliens, so on Puck World, a being such as myself from another world is an alien."

"Well, that's an interesting thing to think about," Wildwing commented.

"Yeah," Dawn nodded, "but at the same time, though, I also felt like a new kid at a different school. Although, some were curious as I said, others had doubts about me at first when I explained myself to them, but then they understood the reason why Canard, Suzette, and Dr. Beakin were always going to the back of the hideout so much which made everyone a bit unhappy with Suzette and Dr. Beakin as well as Canard that they kept secrets from them and felt hurt, but as time went by, they came around and forgave them.

"And during the next five weeks with them was actually a fun time. I learned so much from them and they learned a lot from me, too. They loved the pictures from my world and enjoyed the music that lifted their spirits and it meant a lot that I was making them happy as best as I could..."

Dawn was quiet and she smiled for a short moment, which made Wildwing curious again. Then she continued, "And I was also happy to lend a hand serving them food and help keep things clean and look after the little ones. However, we were getting anxious every day about you all and we wondered if you were ever coming back..."

A shadow passed over her face when she took a moment's pause, looking troubled from what they noticed. "Then came the day that changed things even more..." she said in a clear quiet voice, "You see, when we thought no one could find our hideout...turns out, someone did."

The Ducks' eyes were wide and they leaned on the edge of their seats and strained their ears to pay close attention to the next part of her story.

"You see, we didn't know how, but...the Saurians managed to actually discover our whereabouts." Dawn shuddered, remembering that horrible day, "and everyone panicked. The Drones broke through the walls to find us, but thankfully, there was an evacuation ship Dr. Beakin had made and kept for a while in case of emergencies. A few of us, including myself, Suzette, the doctor, and the general got everyone on board on the top floor of the hideout. Suzette and I were at the ship's door and just when we thought we had everyone on board, I heard a cry calling, 'wait'.

"I turned to see a little boy about 5-years-old with peach feathers and short brown hair running desperately to the ship as fast as his little legs could carry him. Before either me or Suzette could make a move, a Drone appeared suddenly behind him from the floor. I knew that thing was going to kill him, so, without thinking really, I grabbed Suzette's Puck Blaster and, despite Suzette's protests, I ran towards the robot that loomed dangerously over the frightened boy, and I was sure Heaven smiled on me when I managed to make a clean shot that thing's eyes.

"The robot didn't know what to do because it couldn't see, and while it was distracted, I took the boy and held him tight as I ran back to the ship with Suzette and Dr. Beakin and the general urging me to hurry up. I jumped in through the door which was closed immediately and the general ordered the pilot through his communicator to take the ship in the air at once.

"Once we were flying away, Suzette and Dr. Beakin told me how crazy I was for doin' that, but hey, I told them, 'a human's gotta do what a human's gotta do' and I had to get that kid because no one should be left behind especially kids. The boy, his name was Roger which I learned from his parents who were calling desperately for him and when they found him with me and learned of what I did, they thanked me for saving their son's life which was what I was really grateful for myself.

"The general came over to me and at first, I thought he was gonna scold me for running off from the ship like a nut, but actually, he was happy that I managed to save Roger and impressed at how I was able to make a good shot on the robot since he knew I never touched a Puck Blaster before.

"And then, the general had an idea and he asked if I'd like to train like a commando. I was totally surprised. I mean, I told him that I wouldn't be good enough to fight like a soldier, but he thought if I could make shots at a Drone like that, he felt that I had potential which I still doubted. He insisted that he knows a good soldier when he sees one being a general and all, and he said that, although it would be very difficult, it would've benefited me and everyone else.

"When he said that and when I thought about Roger almost getting killed, I knew he was right. I mean, I wanted to help the others and sure, joining the military was never a concept I liked...but the thought of innocent people getting hurt in this war was worse so I agreed.

"At first, I did have a really hard time getting the hang of things. After all, even though Suzette taught me self-defense, I wasn't used to a commando's sort of training, but I did my best not to complain and Suzette and Dr. Beakin did encourage me and eventually, I made a break through in my training.

"After five months of training, the general said I was good enough to join rescue parties that helped slaves break out of camps and collect enough food needed to feed everyone. Then, seven months, which made my stay on Puck World a year in a half and your stay on Earth a year, actually and after those said seven months, we received intel about where Dragunus had escaped to and to where you followed him: Here on Earth.

"I was shocked and amazed that he and his army came to my world and was very afraid of what he'd been doing here, that he may have conqueried it, but the intel said he was just about to invade it after a long year here, and was going to call an army of Drones from Puck World to help him.

"We didn't know what to do, but I had the craziest idea: Steal a Drone and use it for one of us to ride in and blend in with the army and follow them to Earth. When I told the general this, Dr. Beakin and Suzette who were there when I told him this, thought it was most definitely crazy, but the general agreed with me, much to everyone's shock.

"He said that it'd been too long since we've seen all of you and thought it'd be good to send someone on Earth to find out the answers and since I was a human from Earth, who better to send, he suggested. We managed to get a Drone after fighting it and damaging it a bit and Dr. Beakin set to work rearranging it and reprogramming its functions. To make a control system for me to ride and fight in."

"Whoa, Dr. Beakin re-made that Drone for you to make it work like it did today?" Tanya asked in amazement, looking at the rusty red robot at a corner from the garage.

"He sure did, and what a ride, too," Dawn replied, "I had to test it, though, going through obstacles and shooting targets with its weapons and making sure I could pilot that thing and after three days, the results were good, thankfully. Dr. Beakin and Suzette would've liked it if it was longer, but Dragunus had wanted his army the next day, so three days were all we had to be prepared.

"That next..." Dawn continued, looking at her lap in sadness, "and last day, it was time for me to leave for the Drone army headed for Earth..."

* * *

_The Drone with its open chest and seat inside was waiting for its rider Dawn to climb in when she was saying good-bye to her friends, Suzette, Dr. Beakin, General McMallard, and Bryan Ashfeather, who really wanted to see her off._

_The good doctor and Suzette were the first to come up to her. "So this is it," Dawn pronounced._

_"Mm-hmm," Dr. Beakin nodded, "after all this time..." He and Suzette were sad because they were the ones who'd been with her for the longest time and they were going to miss her the most._

_"The times we went through were hard," Dawn said gently, "but there were a lot of good times we've had together..." The three friends smiled at each other, remembering the fun they had in Dawn's old room at the old Resistance hideout where they'd tell stories about their worlds and lives and listen to her songs and learn all sorts of valuable things...that they would never forget._

_Suzette and Dr. Beakin came at Dawn for a tight hug._

_"Good luck, Dawn," Suzette murmured._

_"And be careful out there," Dr. Beakin added._

_"I'll see what I can do," Dawn said, grinning when they groaned._

_"Please, don't make us force you to step down from this," Dr. Beakin begged._

_"I'm sorry," she smiled apologetically, "but I'll be all right..." With a serious tone, she vowed, "And I'll find Canard and the others...and I'll be sure to tell Tanya and Grin you said hi."_

_"Thanks," Suzette replied._

_"Much appreciated," Dr. Beakin agreed. They not only hoped that she would be able to find their friend Canard, but Dr. Beakin's student and Suzette's cousin whom they had missed so dearly._

_When the little hug fest was over, Gen. McMallard stepped forward. "Soldier."_

_"Yes, sir?" she asked, standing up straight in attention._

_The red-headed general gave a small smile and put a hand on the little human's shoulder. "We all wish you the best of luck in that army and we pray for you, Canard and his team's safe return. And...if...you see my daughter, Mallory...tell her that I..."_

_Dawn smiled in understanding and patted her commanding officer's hand. "I'll tell her that you love her and that you miss her."_

_The general grinned and nodded in gratitude and took a step away, then young Bryan came up, looking sadly at the ground. Dawn bent down to the boy, knowing he didn't like saying good-bye, even though he wanted so badly to be here._

_"Do you have to leave?" Bryan asked, moving his gaze up to hers._

_"Yes," she answered quietly, "someone human should travel to Earth..." She brought him in for a hug and rubbed his back, "but when I find the team there and we stop Dragunus, I'll come back and see you guys."_

_Bryan embraced her back, whispering, "I'd like that. Thank you."_

_"No, Bryan, thank you," she corrected, pulling herself from him, "If you hadn't found me, I wouldn't be able to help everyone." She kissed him on the forehead, which made him blush and grin bashfully._

_She climbed into her seat in the Drone, holding the control sticks and looked at her friends. "Well, I guess this is good-bye," she spoke sadly. "Thanks for everything."_

_"And thank you, Dawn," Dr. Beakin replied, looking very sad himself._

_"For everything you've done for all of us," Suzette put in, touching Bryan's shoulders, both having tears in their eyes._

_"Your services have been very helpful," the general concluded, giving her a salute, receiving a salute back from her._

_"I promise, I'll find them and bring them home alive," Dawn declared. The four Ducks nodded, believing her promise and watched as she pressed a button that slowly closed the Drone's chest, the robot's eyes lighting up, powered up, and ready to go._

* * *

"And you guys know the rest," Dawn said, "I snuck into the Drone army undetected and came through the Dimensional Portal, avoided your fire power, not to be offensive, and you know."

The Ducks looked at her in silent amazement when she finished her story, lost for words at the stuff she explained.

"I know it's all hard to believe, but if you want proof, then how about we go find Canard and he'll tell ya," Dawn suggested, itching to see her tanned-feathered friend. "Now where is he?" she asked, sounding a little impatient, getting up and started walking to the door. "I've been dyin' to see him for a year."

Wildwing looked at his teammates. Honestly, from the expressions he saw on her face when she was telling her story, he felt that she was telling the truth, but if that was so, she still didn't know what happened to Canard and he knew that if she was indeed friends with him, then hearing the news would break her heart.

His teammates didn't know what to say because they were all still trying to take in the girl's story, so Wildwing decided to tell her now himself.

"Wait, uh..." Wildwing called, walking up in front of her, wondering what her name was.

"Oh, yeah, I haven't introduced myself," she laughed in embarrassment, rubbing the back of her head, "My name is Dawn Zureikat, at your service."

"Well, that's something we're not used to hearing from humans," Nosedive commented quietly to the others still in their seats.

"Okay, Dawn," Wildwing said, looking away, trying to find the right words to say... "...Why don't you sit back down and I'll tell you."

"Tell me what?" Dawn asked as he led her back to her chair, standing beside her, a hand on her shoulder.

"You see..." Wildwing started, then sighed. "Listen, I, myself, believe your story. You seem to know our friends from Puck World quite well...there's something else about our friend Canard that you don't know."

"What don't I know?" she asked, starting to feel concern.

Wildwing was quiet, trying very hard to gather the strength he needed to tell her. "It's...it's like this." He explained to her how after getting into Dragunus's palace on Twin Beak Mountain, the place was set to blow up earlier than intended, thus making the Saurians escape through a portal making the Ducks chase after them in the Aerowing...

He regretfully told her when the Saurians had launched a worm from their Raptor that threatened to swallow their jet...until Canard figured that the only way to make the worm let go was to give it something else to swallow...someone...

"He opened the door and...the worm grabbed him..." Wildwing said, almost choked, remembering that tragic day, his hands shaking, "and...and..."

Dawn's eyes widened and stood up immediately, starting to feel shaky herself... "So...he's...he's...?" she murmured, taking in deep breaths. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't be true. Her friend Canard...he couldn't be... Not after all this time and waiting and fighting so hard to find him. She just couldn't believe it...

Wildwing was going to say more, but Dawn held her head, feeling dizzy with distress from the news and started to fall down until Wildwing caught her in his arms.

"Dawn, are you okay?" Wildwing asked worriedly, shaking her, but she was limb and he lifted her head to see her eyes were closed. "She's unconscious."

The Ducks gathered around their leader and the girl. "The bad news was too much for her to handle," Grin put in.

"Whoa, if she..." Nosedive began to say in amazement, "if she took it that hard, then..."

"She must know Canard..." Duke finished for him, "...and really cared for him, too."

"She really was telling the truth," Mallory murmured, starting to believe the girl's honesty.

"We should take her to the infirmary," Tanya said.

Wildwing nodded and gently picked Dawn up bridal style and started to lead the way to the infirmary. He looked at the girl in his arms and saw that a tear had slipped from her eye and rolled down her cheek.

He knew she was heartbroken, thinking that Canard was dead...but what he couldn't tell her before she fainted was that maybe Canard did survive and is trapped in Dimensional Limbo. He hoped knowing that when she woke up would reassure her...and that it would be true in the future.

* * *

**Hey, guys, sorry I haven't updated this story for a while. Been lazy. (bows head) Sorry! But I will try to be more hardworking and I hope you like this story so far. Please review me and give me suggestions. Thanks and God bless.**


	6. Exposition and and Addition part 3

**Chapter 5: Exposition and an Addition part 3**

The Ducks followed their Masked leader Willdwing in the infirmary with their comatose little Drone rider Dawn in his wings. He had gently set her down on a bed and brought a cover to her shoulders.

He looked at her face and could the little tear line still wet on her face and he'd reached and wiped that cheek dry. He was sad that she had to take in the news of Canard's disappearance this way and wished he'd said more hopeful words so she wouldn't have fainted at the thought of losing him forever.

Duke had come over to behind where her head was and gently laid a hand on her red hair. "Poor kid," he murmured sympathetically. It wasn't just Duke who understood. They all, especially Wildwing, grieved when Canard gave himself up to the worm to protect his team. What she still didn't know that Canard was, they were positive about it, was alive, but just trapped and waiting to be rescued.

Right now, they had to take care of this girl who'd come from Puck World which was still a mystery of why Dragunus brought her there, and found a way to find them and save their lives in that abandoned factory.

Tanya had brought a cold wet cloth and handed it to Duke to put on her forehead for it to cool her down. She shivered a little from its icy touch and settled quickly and remained still as stone.

"She'll be okay, won't she?" Nosedive asked a bit anxiously.

"Yeah, she's just...shocked by what Wildwing said," Tanya replied, blinking in sadness, making Grin put a hand on her shoulder.

"Clearly, she was rescued by Canard and joined the Resistance after our departure," Grin declared undoubtedly.

"She knew well enough from Canard about us," Nosedive agreed, "Our birthdays, our schools..."

Mallory looked away, even though she was starting to believe everything Dawn told them was true... It's just that...why couldn't Canard trust them enough to tell them about her on Puck World? Surely he could've opened up to them of her existence. Honestly, she couldn't blame her father being upset, being excluded from it all.

"I think she's straight," Duke proclaimed. "Her face was straight when she told us everything and seein' her unconscious after hearin' what happened to Canard, she must've really good friends with him."

"I think so, too," Wildwing spoke up, "When we were leaving the garage, I saw her shedding a tear. That tear showed how very sad she was and a tear like that couldn't be a lie. She is a member in the Resistance on Puck World...that means she's one of us now."

"Whoa, a human on the team?" Nosedive thought aloud, a hand on his head, "That's gonna change our name 'The Mighty Ducks'."

"Names are the least of our concern," Wildwing told his little brother, "but there will be more changes than that."

"You know, having another teammate, human or Duck, wouldn't the most unwise thing to have," Grin spoke up. "After all, she did proof her helpfulness today to us in that factory."

"That's true," Duke nodded, "The only reason we're alive is because of her. And seein' her in that Drone suit was impressive."

"It was," Mallory confessed, thinking back, "especially when she shot Wraith, that's always been hard for us." Her eyes lowered, looking at the human red-head, adding, "Not to mention, if Dad recommended her, then..." And her dad was the best judge of a soldier with potential.

"Hey, if the general thought she's good enough to join the Resistance, then she's proved her fitness and since she's saved us, she's earned our trust," Wildwing concluded.

"Well, looks like we've got a new addition," Nosedive announced, "Uh...a Mighty Human. ...Boy, that's really gonna confuse things."

"We'll worry about names later," Wildwing said, "Right now, let's focus on when she wakes up."

"Exactly, when will she come to?" Duke asked.

"Well, probably a few hours or maybe a day," Tanya guessed.

"Well, hopefully, it won't be for more than a day," Wildwing remarked. "Until then, we're just gonna have to wait."

As the Ducks looked at their new mysterious addition lying out-cold on the bed, they wondered what things were going to be like with a human on board...and hoped that having her on the team would improve things on their mission to stop Dragunus.

Speaking of which, Wildwing began to think of how that red lizard would react when his goons tell him the news of their failure and of how a new alley came to their aid... And he also wondered if he would know if it was Dawn and if he wanted his old prisoner back after all this time...

* * *

In the hideout was a spaceship called the Raptor, disguised in the city of Anaheim by a cloaking device so not to bring attention to its residents, especially the Mighty Ducks. In the throne room, Siege was just explaining to his leader Dragunus about their failure of destroying the Ducks.

The red reptilian overlord on his throne was furious after listening to Siege's report and stood up with clenched fists, his nostrils flaring, his way of letting off steam. "What do you mean someone was inside the Drone that came to their rescue?" he demanded, making Siege shake with fear.

"There-there was someone controlling it," Siege stammered, "using it as a battle armor."

"How could anyone have had one of our Drones?" Dragunus asked.

"It must've got stolen, my lord," Siege answered.

"But who could use a Drone and turn it into a personal controlled battle suit?" Dragunus persisted.

"Well, for certain," said Wraith moaning, holding his head, recovering from the hit he took from the fight in the factory, "the voice was familiar."

"You mean, it's someone we know?" Dragunus queried.

"Yes, it was," the old gray reptile nodded, thinking back, "it was a girl's voice."

"Huh, now that you mention it, that voice does kinda remind me of someone," Siege agreed, trying to remember.

"Yes, someone from Puck World," Wraith stated with a raised finger.

At those words, Dragunus eyes glowed bright red and roared, "What?!" making the three henchmen quiver in fright. "Are you saying another Duck from Puck World stole one of our robots and somehow came here on Earth?! Who? Whose familiar voice is this girl's?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, my lord," Wraith answered regretfully.

"Me neither," Siege spoke up quickly, "we probably met her a long time ago."

Dragunus was boiling with rage and bellowed, making the three below almost think he could shake Raptor if he could shout loud enough. "Having six Ducks constantly making things difficult for us is bad enough!" he stormed, knocking down Drones, stomping them and breaking them with his own hands as if he was trying to destroy the mysterious so-called Duck robot rider in them. "I absolutely will not deal with having seven! And how does a Duck use a Drone to get on Earth, anyway?"

"Well, the Drone sure looked kind rusty," Chameleon put in, "She must not know how to keep it out of the rain."

"Rusty?" Dragunus echoed, closing his eyes in thought. "That means she's been on Earth for a while, but she'd have to come through our Dimensional Portal, although we should've known that ourselves."

"My liege, I think she did use our portal to come here," Wraith spoke up calmly, "When we summoned an army of Drones from Puck World."

"Yes," Dragunus nodded, "she could've snuck in with that stolen Drone to blend in with the other Drones and follow them here."

"But the Ducks destroyed all the Drones that came here," Siege put in.

"Obviously, not the one she was riding in," Chameleon pointed out.

"She must've evaded their shooting," Wraith concluded.

"Well, we now know how she came here," Dragunus said, walking back to his throne, sitting down, "but we've still yet to learn who this new Duck is. I want you three to find out who it is and then bring her to me dead or alive, and _if_ you're lucky enough, destroy the other Ducks as well."

The three followers nodded in understanding and quickly left their ruler in his throne room who sat back, still very angry that the Mighty Ducks have escaped their trap and that they had a new member. He wanted to know who it was and more than anything, get her out of the battlefield.

"Enjoy your newest teammate while you can, Ducks," he said gravely, "because you won't have her for long."

* * *

Back at the Pond, it was already evening and Wildwing still stayed with Dawn by her bedside. She had yet to awaken from her unconsciousness, making Wildwing hope that maybe in the morning she would arise.

Just then, the infirmary door opened and Wildwing turned to see Duke stepping in. "Still waitin' for her to wake up, huh?" Duke guessed.

"Yeah," Wildwing replied quietly, turning his gaze back at the slumbering red-head. "I thought it'd be good if someone stayed with so she wouldn't wake up alone." Not only that, he wanted to tell her the minute she came around about Canard's positive survival.

Duke came next to his leader, a hand on the white drake's shoulder. "You also wanna let her know more about Canard, right?" he queried.

"How'd you figure?" Wildwing asked, slightly turning his head to the older Duck.

"To put it simply, somethin' told us that the reason you're still in here is 'cause you felt responsible for her passin' out like that," Duke answered.

Wildwing nodded, knowing he hit the mark. "I wish I'd said more, then she wouldn't have ended up like this."

"She'll be okay, physically speakin'," Duke assured him, patting his shoulder, "And hopefully, learnin' about Canard only bein' trapped will make her feel better emotionally."

Wildwing nodded again in agreement. He knew she'd still be sad that she still couldn't see Canard after all this time, but maybe knowing that he was still alive would bring a glimmer of hope.

"So I take it you're gonna wait until maybe mornin' for her to wake up, right?" Duke deduced.

"Mm-hmm," Wildwing affirmed, "Like I said, it's good that there's someone beside her to tell her the whole story."

"Then, I'll leave ya to it," Duke replied, giving him another pat on the shoulder to bid him a good evening. "See ya in the mornin' and her, too, if we're lucky," he called over his shoulder before leaving the infirmary.

Wildwing turned his eyes at his new human teammate and began to wonder again about her imprisonment at Dragunus's top-secret dungeon. Just what was it did the Saurians wanted from her? What did she have that possessed them to steal her from her world and perform experiments to hurt her so and make her lose her memory?

Dawn claimed that she didn't have any skill or talent that would be of any interest, or shouldn't be any interest to a power-hungry monster like him, but there had to be something... However, Wildwing asked himself again: Would Dragunus still want her despite it was thanks to her that the Ducks survived another encounter against his flunkies?

At the sound of a slight moan that almost made Wildwing jump from his seat, he looked to see that Dawn had moved her head an inch. He leaned forward, excited and a bit anxious that she was finally waking up. "Dawn?" he whispered, but there was no response and she remained still and silent.

Wildwing sighed with disappointment, but there was nothing he could do except wait. "Dawn, please...wake up," he pleaded softly. She didn't answer and after a few more minutes of watching and waiting, Wildwing's head began to nod and his eyes were drooping with tiredness. He looked at the time on his wrist communicator and saw that it was 10:55.

It was getting late and Dawn still hadn't woken up yet, but he told himself that he'd stay with her, so he remained where he was, and then finally, he folded his arms to lean on the edge of the bed and rested his head to face Dawn's.

He wondered how curious Canard felt about her when he brought her to safety unconscious and beaten. At least Wildwing and his team got to know her story about Puck World, but the only thing Canard knew was her name before she fell asleep in deep pain. Thankfully, she wasn't in any pain now...other than a broken heart that made her like this.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you more about Canard," he whispered, hardly able to keep his eyes open, then yawned, "but I'll make sure you get the whole story when you wake up." Then when he couldn't them open anymore, he closed his eyes and fell asleep himself.

* * *

After Dawn had passed out from hearing Wildwing's news about Canard, she was dreaming of green hills all around her and a big blue sky above her head, the huge fluffy clouds as they floated over the world below, the sun shining brightly.

Although Dawn was confused why she was here, she smiled, missing this natural Earth beauty since she'd been on a planet once icy now a humid wasteland. In any case, there was never any greenery on Puck World. Being in the woods and here in the hills had brought back memories of her time strolling through forests and walking on country sides for long hours and sometimes camping in the outdoors.

However, much as she missed places like this, she knew she had to get out. As she kept walking, she looked up on a hilltop and had the surprise of her life: A certain tanned-feathered Duck in a brown and blue battle suit, smiling and waving down to her.

"Canard!" she cried with joy, running up the hill as fast and best she could. The moment she was on top, she jumped at Canard, both hugging each other. "You're here!" she laughed. Wildwing was wrong, Canard was alive. "Thank Heaven! I almost thought you were gone." She was very happy, seeing that her Duck friend was all right and with her. "I've missed you so much, Can..." she whispered, hugging him tightly.

Then, she felt him pulling himself from her, holding her hands. She looked to see he had a sad face on him. "What's the matter?" she asked.

He didn't answer. He just gently stroked his four-fingered hand on the side of her red head, then backed up from her. "Can, where are you going?" she asked, getting concerned.

The next thing, the sky was growing dark and a shadow blanketed the hills, startling Dawn and she looked up to see the moon and stars shining. "How can it be nighttime so soon?" she wondered aloud.

Suddenly, an earthquake shook the hills violently and Dawn fell on her knees. "What in the world?" she hollered. Then, the hill top began to crack in half, leaving a gap between Dawn and Canard. She looked at her tanned-feathered friend and called out, "Canard!"

But he didn't move. He just kept staring sadly at her, as if the earthquake wasn't his concern right now. "Canard, run, it's not safe!" she shouted. Then, on his side of the hill, the ground started to crumble down into pieces and fell from Canard's feet.

"Canard, no!" she exclaimed. She ran and leaned on the edge of her side of the hill and watched in horror her friend falling backwards in the dark abyss, reaching his hand for her, looking...very, very sorry and he disappeared in the shadows, out of her sight completely.

Dawn shook in dismay, not believing what had just happened. She'd seen him at long last and now she lost him again just like that... "No..." she murmured in a trembling voice. "No...no..." Tears came out of her face and fell like raindrops down in the chasm below. "_Canard!_"

* * *

In her bed in the infirmary, Dawn tossed and turned her head from her nightmare and opened her eyes wide and bolted upright, breathing as if she'd just popped out of the water for air. She felt something wet that fell off her forehead and saw a cloth on her lap and looked at her surroundings and wondered where she was now.

Then she looked to see beside her was Wildwing resting his head and arms on the edge of her bed, sound asleep. She tilted her head, wondering what had happened. She looked back and recalled Wildwing telling her of Canard sacrificing himself to a dangerous worm to save his team...and had passed out.

She looked at her lap, gripping her comforter, shaking with grief. So, it was true, Canard is gone. She couldn't believe it. After all this time, after waiting for so long...all the excitement of finding him again...only to find he had...he had...

"Oh, my friend..." she whispered, shedding a tear, "I knew you guys shouldn't have taken on Dragunus yet. I knew something bad was going to happen if you'd battled him. I just knew it...and now I wish I was wrong."

She looked at the white drake still sleeping, and thought how even harder it was for him. Wildwing had known Canard longer than she did and knew he loved him like a brother as she had. She remembered Canard wanting to introduce her to his friends the Flashblade brothers, especially the eldest Wildwing whom Dawn reminded Canard of, which she was so flattered to hear and had wanted to meet them both, especially Canard's best friend.

Dawn noticed the Mask he was wearing and remembered what he said about Canard giving it to him before being pulled to his doom, asking him to be the leader in his stead. She had a feeling it was very hard for poor Wildwing to have that kind of burden, but if Canard deemed him worthy enough to give him the Mask, then he must've been a good leader after all this time.

She looked around the room and she smiled at the time she woke up in an unfamiliar room in bed and was visited by three Duck friends who'd been so kind to her and kept her safe and company. She felt trapped in that room, but there were a lot of precious memories of Canard, Suzette, and Dr. Canard.

After Canard's team's disappearance, she made more precious memories with the rest of the people in the Resistance hideout and helped made things easier for everyone by joining them. Honestly, she missed Suzette, Dr. Beakin, Gen. McMallard, Bryan, and the others already...and she was really going to miss Canard now that he was...that he was...

She was about to break into tears, but she tightened her face and shook her head, ordering herself not to. There was nothing anyone can do about it...and she knew that Canard would want her to move on and help the others...which was exactly he wanted Wildwing and the others to do before he died.

Then she noticed Wildwing starting to stir and saw his eyes opening. He lifted his head and yawned.

"Good morning," Dawn said, making him jump and turn to see her conscious.

"Hey, you're up," he said in relief. "Are you okay?"

"Well, yes and no," she admitted sadly, "I'm not in physical pain, just..." She blinked and turned her face away from his. "I just couldn't believe what really happened to him," she said, her voice cracking with sadness.

"Wait, Dawn," Wildwing beckoned, holding her hand that made her look at him in surprise. "There's something more you should know. I couldn't tell you before you fainted that Canard is still alive."

Dawn stared at him with wide eyes in total shock. "What?" she asked quietly.

"I never said he died," he went on, "It's just that, after Canard saved us and we followed Dragunus here to your world and fought him a few days later, he said that Canard was trapped in Dimensional Limbo. That means there's a chance he's still alive after all this time."

Dawn could hardly believe her ears. Canard was alive? She took deep breaths and her lips formed into a big smile. "So, we can still find him?" she said hopefully.

"Yes," he nodded, "we just need to capture Dragunus and get his Dimensional Portal, use it to save Canard and get home to Puck World."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Dawn replied excitedly, removed the comforter off her and stood up from her bed, but Wildwing put his hands on her shoulders and gently sat her back down.

"Hold on, let's slow down a minute," he suggested. "Finding Dragunus is not that easy. We've been tracking him for a year now and we usually find them when he starts trouble on Earth. The reason it's hard to find him is because his aircraft the Raptor has a cloaking device that makes it look like ordinary Earth buildings, but this Mask helps me see past the Raptor's holograms. However, the Saurians keep moving from place to place, making it harder."

"So we look harder," Dawn said simply, "We can't give up."

"No, you're right, we can't," Wildwing agreed, "but we gotta take this nice and slow first. I mean, for one thing: We have a new member now and we're gonna have to show you how we do things on this team."

"Okay," Dawn nodded, then, when she thought about it, asked, "Does that mean you all believe my story?"

"Well, you know I was the first to believe you," he reminded her, "and the others definitely believed when you passed out and saw you shed a tear after thinking Canard was...you know."

Dawn was glad that they all believed she was for real about everything and even more glad when she learned Canard was still alive, at least they all assumed, but if there was chance, they had to try and she was eager to begin the search for the Dimensional Portal.

"So where are the others now?" she queried.

Wildwing looked at his communicator to look at the time and announced, "It's 7:00, so they should be up already. Come on, let's go see them and then we'll discuss things."

Dawn nodded and took his offering hand and let him lead her to wherever the rest of the team were.

_Okay, well, so far, this mission has been working well, so far. I made it here alive, I found the team at long last...sons Canard, but I know now that he's alive yet trapped in another dimension, but at least there's a way to find him._

She looked at Wildwing as he continued to guide her and smiled.

_Well, Can, I found your best friend and I got to meet him. I can't say what I think of him or the others yet since it's too soon, but...I have a feeling there are gonna be a lot of exciting adventures I'm gonna have with these guys._

* * *

In the mess hall, the rest of the Ducks were having breakfast at the table, their leader and their new human teammate missing. Before Grin sat down, he brought an extra chair and set it in in a space between Duke and Wildwing's.

"What are you doing, Grin?" Mallory asked the big guy.

"Setting a chair for our new member," Grin answered, "_if _she's up this morning."

"You think she's still out-cold?" Nosedive wondered aloud.

"Well, I know Wildwing was still with her last night when I checked the infirmary," Duke recalled. "So he shoulda called by now unless he's asleep in the infirmary himself."

"Well, he feels responsible about making her faint in sadness about...you-know-who," Tanya put in, looking away in regret, everyone else having the same expression.

"Yeah, and Wildwing wants to make sure he's there to tell her the whole story the minute she wakes up," Mallory nodded in agreement.

"You think that'll make her feel better?" Nosedive asked.

"It should," Duke assured. "Canard's lost, but he's not a goner."

"News of his survival and the chance to find him will bring raise her spirits," Grin added confidently.

"That'll be good," Mallory said, then pointed out, "but you know things are going to be very different with her around."

"Well, yeah, having a human teammate was never expected, but hey, the others back on Puck World didn't expect a human to be on their team, either," Duke reminded them. "And from what she said, she seemed to have worked pretty well with them and we all remember how well she drove off those newts from the factory."

"Yes, her skills could be very valuable on our mission," Grin agreed with a firm nod. "For now, we wait until she awakens."

Then the door opened and they all looked to see their leader Wildwing with his arm around Dawn's shoulder. "Wait no longer, she's up and around," Wildwing announced.

"Morning," Dawn greeted to the other Ducks with a smile and a wave.

"Hey, kid, you're up," Duke called with joy as he and the others got up and came up to the two at the door.

"We were wonderin' when you were gonna rise and shine, girlfriend," Nosedive said.

"Well, I just woke up," Dawn started explaining, looking up at at the Masked leader, "then I saw Wildwing with me and he quickly told me the whole story about what happened to you guys after you came here to find Dragunus and heard what he said to you all about Canard bein' trapped in Dimensional Limbo."

"So you know the truth?" Mallory asked.

"Mm-hmm," Dawn nodded, "and I am very relieved. Now I'm eager to help you find those lizards and get the Dimensional Portal and get him out and get you all back to Puck World. But Wildwing said that first things first I have learn from you guys how you do things in this team."

"Well, things here aren't completely difficult," Duke started, "and it doesn't take long to get used to us."

"Okay," Dawn nodded, then her eyes widened when her stomach growled and her face turned beet red and she covered her head with her hood. "Sorry," she apologized sheepishly, "I didn't eat much yesterday, so..."

"What did you eat yesterday?" Wildwing asked.

"Well, I'd come from the woods before I found Anaheim," Dawn explained, "and the only decent food I could find there were some toyon berries and I couldn't eat much of those, either. You see, too many toyon berries can be toxic for people, so I had to eat very few and I had to let them warm up in the sun on rocks 'cause they're safer to eat when they're dry."

"Well, I can certainly believe you didn't eat much in the woods," Tanya said, "seeing how skinny you look."

"Actually, when I think about it, you did feel lighter than you looked when I was carrying you to the infirmary," Wildwing put in.

Dawn just shrugged, taking off her hood. "Well, I had to eat somethin' in there and I had to be careful."

"Well, since you're back in civilization," Duke pronounced, ruffling the girl's hair, "let's get you some real, safe indoor food to eat."

"Sounds good to me," Dawn replied sincerely as she followed them to the table.

"This seat right here is yours," Duke told Dawn, pointing to the chair next to him and Wildwing who sat down, taking his Mask off. "Grin brought in an extra chair in case you woke up at this hour and would eat with us."

"Oh, thank you, Grin," Dawn said to the large Duck.

"You're welcome," Grin nodded politely. "We're happy you could join us."

"Same here," Dawn replied as she sat down.

"Hope you like bird seed and worms," Nosedive joked, making Dawn laugh mockingly.

"He's kidding," Wildwing assured her.

"I know that," Dawn said, "I've seen and eaten the stuff your people eat on Puck World that's not completely different from the food here."

"Then you won't hate pancakes and whatever box of cereal you'd like and juice?" Mallory offered, motioning to the food around.

"Not at all," Dawn replied, getting herself a bowl and plate and helped herself. "I mean, after eatin' nothin' but toyon berries, I'm hungry for just about anything...except for bird seed and worms."

That made the Ducks laugh. "I see you don't have a bird's kind of taste," Duke chuckled, ruffling the girl's head again.

"Well, I eat berries which is what birds eat, and I do like bread," Dawn put in, "but that's something people would enjoy as well."

"Say, Dawn," Mallory said, "I know you're hungry, but...we have questions we'd like to ask you."

"Regarding Puck World, I'd wager?" Dawn guessed, pouring cereal in a bowl.

"That obvious?" Tanya asked.

"Well, it's no surprise that you're wondering how things are goin' on Puck World," Dawn sympathized. "So go ahead, ask away."

And they asked her several questions like how were the others doing, was food plentiful there, how many people were rescued and etc., and Dawn gladly answered all the questions she could answer.

"I'm happy to say things are a bit brighter on Puck World," Dawn smiled, "Things were gloomy when you guys disappeared, but after a little while, shortly after I came out of hiding and after we evacuated from the old hideout, things were gettin' better."

The Ducks sighed at the sound of that good news that their world was doing fine since their departure to chase Dragunus to Earth.

"That reminds me, Grin, Tanya," Dawn said to the two, "Suzette and Dr. Beakin wanted me to tell you they said hi and they hope you're doing well."

Grin and Tanya smiled to hear that, and Tanya asked anxiously, "And how are they?"

"They're doing well, too," Dawn replied, making the two sigh with relief. Dawn smiled in understanding, knowing her first Duck friends were near and dear to Tanya and Grin as they were to her.

"That reminds me of another thing," Dawn remembered, looking at Mallory from across from her sitting next to Tanya. "Your dad wanted me to let you know that he loves you and he misses you a lot...and he's all right."

Mallory blinked and a smile slowly came on her beak, glad to hear the message from her father who was doing okay on Puck World ever since she left, though there was a look of sorrow and longing and Grin and Tanya on each side of her patted the red-head Duck on the shoulder in understanding, for they also had loved ones on Puck World waiting for them.

Dawn looked in sympathy herself, happy to have reassured her teammates about their home world and their people and friends. Honestly...she couldn't help feel a little envious. When she looked at her plate in silence, Wildwing tilted his head, wondering what was on her mind.

"Say, Dawn," Nosedive spoke up, making Dawn lift her head up, giving the young blonde Duck her attention, "I don't suppose you've met any friends of me and Wildwing's on Puck World, have ya?"

"Sorry, afraid not," Dawn answered regretfully, making the Flashblade brothers look down in disappointment. "But I'm sure Dr. Beakin, Suzette, Gen. McMallard and the others in the Resistance will help them."

"You're sure, huh?" Duke asked, forking his breakfast.

"Yeah, I believe in them," Dawn answered straight forwardly.

"And they believe in you?" Mallory asked curiously.

"I'm sure they do, too," the human girl nodded.

"It's good to know you and your old team have faith in each other," Grin said, holding a spoonful of cereal up to his head, "After all, trust helps bind a unit and makes them stronger."

"That's very true," Dawn agreed, then looked at the table, closing her eyes and smiled when she said, "and there's been all kinds of faith besides that."

"How do you mean?" Wildwing wondered.

Before Dawn could answer, the door opened and Dawn and the Ducks turned to see a slightly big-boned man in a grayish-blue suit and a purple tie with...spiky yellow spots in it and brown hair in a pony tail. "Good morning, boobies," he greeted cheerfully as he came in with a piece of paper and a cell phone in his hands.

"Oh, no," Duke groaned quietly, making Dawn turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "It's too early for this."

"Phil, what are you doing at this hour?" Wildwing asked in a low monotone. Dawn blinked in surprise to see the Phil their manager who'd given these guys the Pond she'd heard about...but not much. From what she could tell, they didn't like him that much.

"Well, you see, last night, I've been lookin' for something for you guys to do and I..." Phil began to explain, then looked to see Dawn sitting beside Wildwing, waving at him. "Hello? Who's this?"

"Phil, meet Dawn," Wildwing pronounced, patting Dawn's shoulder. "She just arrived last night."

"Just arrived?" Phil repeated. "From where?"

"From Puck World." Nosedive answered, oh, so simply.

"Oh, well, that's..." Phil began to say, then his eyes widened in shock and he cried, "What?! Puck World...?" He looked at Dawn who smiled innocently, waiting for him to say something else. "But she's not a Duck."

Dawn gasped mockingly, covering her mouth. "Really?" she asked playfully.

"You don't say?" Duke joined in, looking at Dawn's face. "Well, we thought she looked different from us. What no beak."

"And no feathers," Mallory added motioning her hand to Dawn.

"And five fingers on each hand," Tanya finished.

"Yeah, she does seem to have more physical similarities when you, Phil, than with us," Nosedive agreed, looking up at the slightly overweight man up and down, "Well, except she's female and not..."

Wildwing cleared his throat and shook his head at his little brother firmly, warning him not to go too far or else hear Phil whining.

"It's a long story," Wildwing said and he and Dawn explained her story of her mysterious arrival on Puck World thanks to the Saurians who hurt her and imprisoned her, Canard coming to her rescue and hid her in the Resistance hideout and how she later met the others in the Resistance shortly after the Mighty Ducks came to Earth and joined the Resistance and used a Drone to make it here on Earth and how she saved their lives in the abandoned factory.

"We believe her story's true and we're letting her join our team," Wildwing concluded, giving Dawn a grin, making her grin back.

"You mean, you bring in a new teammate and didn't tell me about it yesterday?" Phil complained. "I thought we were open."

"Sorry, Phil, but things got kinda complicated yesterday and Dawn here didn't feel well last night," Duke said, rubbing the girl's shoulder, not getting into the details of that she fainted because of Canard's disappearance.

"Well, I can understand that she wasn't feeling well," Phil replied, "but still, I wish you guys had told me this sooner. I mean, a human on the team...? I mean, this is gonna interest the people everywhere."

As the Ducks groaned in aggravation, Dawn thought about when they'd told her that they were a famous hockey team on Earth and when she thought about it, she was surprised that they'd revealed themselves to the people here. Actually, she'd been afraid of the concept of humans' reaction of any Ducks on Earth because of how judgmental they could be about different people and things. Then again, she found the Ducks on Puck World lovable, so it was possible for this team to get the same kind of treatment to her amazement and relief.

"Imagine, the Ducks recruiting one of this planet's daughters," Phil went on, his mind popping with ideas, "Taken by the evil lizards for some unknown reason, giving her amnesia, and rescued by the good Ducks of the Resistance who let her join and bravely rode a robot to travel through space, and then rescued Earth's beloved Mighty Ducks from a fiery exploding death. The public will love it!"

"Whoa ho," Dawn spoke up, standing up, "Hold on there, Phil, let's not get carried away."

"Getting carried away is what he does best," Mallory muttered to Tanya who nodded in agreement.

"First of all, hi, glad to meet ya," Dawn introduced herself formally and properly, shaking his hand.

"You'll think differently shortly," Duke whispered under his breath.

"Second of all, let's first ask for the Ducks' new recruit's permission that she'd like to talk about all this to the public," Dawn suggested calmly, her hands together as if she was praying.

"Right, sorry," Phil apologized, "How about we talk about it to the public?"

"I'd rather we didn't," Dawn replied quickly.

"But why?" Phil insisted.

"Phil, these things, as far as why Dragunus took me from Earth and the things that happened after that, I personally would rather not share to anyone," Dawn confessed. "Let's just say...I have trust issues."

"But the world knows about the Mighty Ducks and nothing's happened," Phil reassured, then look to the guys for back up, "Right?"

"Other than some people thinking we don't belong here and aren't trustworthy and some, mostly scientists, wanting to experiment on us," Nosedive murmured moodily, looking away, making Dawn turn to the young Duck in shock. She guessed that some of the people here did give these guys their indifference after all...

"Okay, so maybe a few folks have had some problems with them," Phil admitted, "but there are lot of other folks who dig these guys and they'll dig you, too."

"Well, hey, if they want to dig me, fine, you can tell the world the Ducks have a new teammate, but you can't tell them about my story of my being on their home planet," Dawn told him firmly, "You can just say I gave the Ducks a hand with the Saurians, they liked my skills, and they let me join, which is all pretty much true, anyway. The first large parts of the story remained classified."

"Oh, come on, Dawn, babe," Phil reasoned.

Dawn stood her ground and told him directly but gently, "No, Phil, my mind is made up. The public can't know about my being kidnapped and my living on their world. You're just gonna have to accept that."

"Come on, guys," Phil pleaded to the others for help.

"She has spoken, Phil," Wildwing told their manager. "No revealing her story on Puck World."

"But the public are gonna be curious," Phil persisted.

"I'm sure they are," Dawn said undoubtedly. "and if they have questions, they can ask me and I'll give them whatever answers without too many specifications." Before Phil could say more, she added, "and by the way, why are you makin' a big deal about the public, anyway? You're the manger of the Ducks' hockey team, ain't ya?"

"Well, technically, yes," Phil answered.

"And you're not the manager of them as a commando team, are you?" Dawn queried.

"Well, no."

"And I am a member of their commando team, not their hockey team," Dawn went on, "which means there's no need for you to worry about me, is there?"

"She's got a point, Phil," Duke said with a raised finger. "And your concern is only regarding us as your hockey team, not your team of heroes."

"Well, hey, why not take her in as one of your hockey team players?" Phil suggested.

"Ha!" Dawn cried. "Me? Play hockey? I never been on the ice in my life. I grew up in the south where there's no ice or snow."

"Well, didn't they teach ya hockey on Puck World when you came out of hiding?" Phil asked.

"Phil, when the Saurians invaded Puck World, they melted the whole planet of the ice, so how could anyone teach me hockey there?" Dawn pointed out.

"Well, then maybe you guys can teach her," Phil motioned to the others.

"Pardon me, Mr. Palmfeather," Dawn spoke, using the man's last name, getting annoyed already, "but can we ask if I'd like to learn how? Because I'm no sports player, especially when it involves ice which I am not used to. Besides, guys, let me ask you all this: Do you all need another hockey player in your hockey team?"

"No, we do not," Wildwing answered, shaking his head. "We've been doing just fine on our own on the ice."

"But we could use another player in our commando team," Nosedive chimed in.

"Yes, the more help we can get stoppin' Dragunus, the better," Duke agreed sincerely, wrapping his arm around Dawn, patting her shoulder.

"It's official, Phil," Wildwing said to their manager, "She's only a member of the Ducks' commando team, and her story to the world will be that she came to our aid and we offered her a spot with us. This discussion is over."

Phil sighed and shook his head in pity. "Must you guys want to be difficult? Fine, then, I'll just tell the public that she's just a girl who helped you out and she interested ya and you asked her to join up with you..."

"And...?" Dawn sang, pointing a finger at him.

"And she's a member of the commando team, not hockey team," Phil answered, his eyes up to the ceiling.

"Good Phil," Dawn praised, picking up a pancake, "I think he deserves a treat, don't you, guys?"

"For listening to reason for once, yes, he does," Wildwing nodded. Dawn laid a napkin under the pancake and handed it to Phil.

"Thank you," Dawn said with a smile, sitting back down.

"Well, this is unusual," Phil replied, looking at the pancake, "but hey, I'll take it, but I still say you guys aren't lookin' at the big picture."

"Let us worry about that, Phil," Wildwing told him, "Now that has been said and done, you said there was something you had for us?"

"Yeah, but now that we're gonna have to explain Dawn's 'short, nothing too special story', I'm gonna have to get back on ya on that for a bit," Phil said, taking his pancake as he walked out. "I'll see you boobalas later. Oh, and welcome to the team, Dawn. The commando team, that is," he told her in assurance.

Dawn nodded in approval and said, "Thank you, Phil."

"Huh, she calls me good Phil and she thanks me twice," Phil thought as he walked out. "Not something I'm not used to hearin'."

When the door closed, Nosedive commented, "Well, that wasn't as painful as it usually is with Phil."

"He sure was persistent, he was," Dawn agreed, looking at the door he came out of. "Quite the business wanna-get-rich quick schemer, huh?"

"It's as if you've known him as long as we have," Mallory remarked.

"Gotta say, you were tough with him," Duke said, leaning his elbow on the table, resting his chin on the back of his hand. "The rest of us have a harder time brushin' him off like that."

"Well, when my mind has been made up, it can't be changed so easily," Dawn informed them.

"You seem to have strong mind and good will," Grin thought aloud.

"Could you teach us how to do that with Phil?" Tanya asked hopefully.

"Please?" Nosedive begged.

Dawn couldn't help but laugh and guessed, "That Phil must make things frustrating with you, huh?"

"We don't know where to begin," Mallory grumbled, rubbing her temples.

"But still, I meant what I said," Dawn went on, "and I don't wanna reveal too much information about myself."

"We understand, Dawn," Wildwing sympathized, "and we'll make sure to share little with everyone."

"And we'll make sure Phil will do the same or else," Duke said in a warning tone.

"Well, I appreciate the understanding," Dawn smiled. "It's just that... Well, you know I said I have trust issues and I know my kind well enough to know that...their curiosity about these things can end badly."

"Well, don't worry," Wildwing assured her, a hand on her shoulder, "We won't say much, like we said."

"Thanks," Dawn grinned.

After breakfast was over, everyone stood up from and Dawn spoke up, "Well, now that I'm officially on the team, what do we do next?"

"Well, actually, it's not official," Tanya denied, then pointed to a round device on her left wrist "at least not without a communicator of your own."

"Yeah, your own personal communicator is something you need right away," Wildwing agreed, his Mask back on.

"I'll get started on one immediately," Tanya told Dawn, feeling her wrist, "Just let me check the size of your wrist for a sec."

"And another thing we must do to make this official is this," Wildwing added, extending a gloved hand to Dawn. "You gave Phil a proper hand shake, and none of us gave you one, so..."

"Okay," Dawn nodded, smiling and shaking Wildwing's hand.

"Welcome to the team," Wildwing said with a smile she could see despite his Mask.

"Thanks."

"Glad to have ya on board, sister," Nosedive said, giving her a good shake.

"Yeah, you've earned your place here with us," Mallory agreed, shaking her hand.

"Yeah, anyone who can shot at least one of the Saurians and keep a bomb from us definitely proves your fitness," Duke put in, shaking her hand, ruffling her hair again.

"And anyone that our friends on Puck World trust, we trust, too," Tanya added, shaking her hand.

Before Grin extended his hand to her, he bowed and said, "And any friend to our friends on Puck World is a friend of ours," Grin said, shaking her small hand gently with his big one.

"Oh, gosh, guys," Dawn said, feeling bashful, "You know how to make a person feel welcome."

"Well, you're the only human we're welcoming in the team," Wildwing told her, his hands on her shoulders, "and that's gonna make a difference from now on."

"I know that," Dawn understood with a nod, "but when I joined with the others on Puck World, things weren't that different there."

"Well, that's good to know," Wildwing nodded.

"What's gonna be different is our team's name the Mighty Ducks since we have a human with us," Nosedive reminded them. "I mean, how can we be the Mighty Ducks when our team has one human?"

"Well, guys, no need to change your title," Dawn said, "I mean, why make things awkward by calling ourselves the Mighty Duck and Human. Just keep calling yourselves the Mighty Ducks. I don't mind."

"You're sure?" Mallory asked. "'Cause people will be curious about you."

"Well, let's worry about that when it happens," Dawn suggested. "Right now, all I care about is helpin' you guys find the Saurians and getting the Dimensional Portal to find Canard and get you guys back home. "

Wildwing couldn't help admiring her devotion to a race of Ducks and patted her shoulders. "Well, then, let's get started." Dawn nodded and followed them out to out of the room, knowing full well that there were indeed going to be a lot of exciting times with this new team of hers...

* * *

(**Okay, guys, here's the new update. Hope it's good and it is the last part of the exposition and an addition, I assure you. The next chapter will be more exciting. If you have suggestions, please review me and I do hope you like this new story, so far.)**


	7. Getting to Know Dawn

**Chapter 6: Getting to Know Dawn**

The Ducks except Tanya, who went off to her lab to make a wrist communicator for Dawn, decided to give Dawn a tour of the Pond to help her learn her way around. They showed her the living room, the arcade room, the training hall, and showed them their rooms.

Then they showed her an empty room which was never used and decided that Dawn could have it to sleep in.

"Not bad," Dawn commented when she stepped in the middle of the vacant room, looking around. "Just needs a bed, a chair and a table and maybe a shelf or two and it'll feel like home."

"Well, we do have a table and a chair here in the Pond we can spare and put in here if you'd like," Wildwing offered.

"That's a good start, thanks," Dawn nodded gratefully.

"Too bad we don't have any spare mattresses," Duke put in regretfully, his wings folded.

"Well, do you have spare sheets or comforters and a pillow I could use?" Dawn suggested. "I could just sleep on the floor 'til we get a bed in here."

"You'll sleep on the floor?" Mallory asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, in the woods, I had to sleep on the grass with only this jacket to keep me warm at night," Dawn explained, gripping the sleeves of her blue hooded jacket, "and had to use my bag that I'd brought from Puck World to use as my pillow and the things in that bag didn't exactly make it a comfortable pillow, okay? I was just lucky it never rained over there during my stay."

"Boy, sounds like a proper getaway vacay," Nosedive remarked sarcastically.

"The getaway part is understandable," Duke replied.

"You sure roughed it hard out there, didn't you?" Wildwing asked Dawn.

"Well, it could've been worse," Dawn said, "I'm just glad I haven't lost my wilderness-survival skills after being away from Earth's nature for so long."

"You mean, you used to sleep in the wilderness before you came to our world?" Grin queried.

"That I did," Dawn answered, "Used to go in the woods outside my hometown and rough it, sleeping under the stars in my sleeping bag which would've done better than this jacket and my bag. Yeah, I spent a lot of time in the wilderness by my lonesome."

"By your lonesome?" Duke repeated. "No one ever went with ya?"

"No one I knew liked to sleep in the outdoors," Dawn said, looking at the floor with pity, "but that's okay, at least I didn't have to hear anyone complaining or have anyone slow me down out there."

"But you'd have company when you're not camping by yourself, right?" Wildwing queried.

"Well, I'd hang out with Mr. Woodlyn at his wilderness store," she answered, "I'm sort of his regular customer and he'd give me tips on how to make it in the big outdoors. He's been a good friend to me for a long time now."

"What about friends from school?" Nosedive asked.

"...I didn't make that many...er, any friends at all in school," Dawn confessed, "Let's just say I was too shy to socialize with people my age. Plus, there was no one in school I could really talk to, anyway."

"So, basically, you're a loner," Duke theorized.

"Yes, but it's doesn't bother me much," Dawn assured, turning around, her hands on her hips. "I mean, no one gave me any trouble and I didn't give anyone any trouble, so win-win and I still had Mr. Woodlyn, so...what's the big deal?" she asked with a simple shrug.

"So Mr. Woodlyn is the only friend you have?" Mallory concluded.

"Hey, one's better than none, I always say," Dawn replied. "Don't worry about it. It's not like I needed anyone else in town."

Wildwing blinked in curiosity at the mysterious new teammate. This girl had only one friend and no one else and yet it doesn't bother her that she had no one at her own age...?

"Say, I just realized something?" Mallory proclaimed with a raised finger. "What about your family?"

For a second, Dawn was quiet and she slightly turned her head to the other red head and asked calmly, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you've been gone for over a year," Mallory put in, "and they haven't heard from you in such a long time. Don't you want to let them know you're okay?"

"Yeah, they'd love to know you're all right," Duke agreed.

Dawn turned her head away again and said quietly, "They already know everything. They knew about it all before I came looking for you guys here."

"You mean, when you came into town, you called your family and told them...everything?" Wildwing asked.

"They know everything," Dawn repeated rather firmly, "They know what happened...and they believe me."

"Wait, you told them all about your being in another universe on a planet of alien Ducks and all about your joining them in the military...and they believe you?" Duke questioned confusedly.

"They know I'm honest," Dawn replied. "...And they understand why I want to help you guys and they've given me their blessing and love."

"Wait, you mean, you're not going home?" Nosedive asked.

Dawn shook her head, "I promised everyone on Puck World I'd find you all and bring you back." She turned her head to them and said with a stern look, "And I intend to keep that promise." She turned her head away from them again and added, "Besides, they don't live at our house, anyway. They moved out a while back and they left me the house to live in 'cause they knew I belonged there."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, they moved and they left the house to you?" Duke said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, they trusted me, they knew I'd take care of the house," Dawn insisted.

"But, hang on, when did they move out?" Wildwing asked.

"When...I was 17," Dawn answered, still not looking at them.

"Seventeen?" Wildwing echoed in disbelief.

"They moved out and gave you the house when you were only 17?" Mallory cried in surprise.

"Well, they gave me the house, but I wasn't old enough yet, so for the next few months until I turned 18, I stayed with Mr. Woodlyn, who was a good friend of the whole family, and when I was old enough, I moved out of his house and into my own."

"So you had your own pad?" Nosedive said, kind of impressed. "Whoa, I bet you must've loved it, havin' your own place and doin' whatever you want."

"Well, hang on, yes, the house was mine and I liked it a lot, but I still followed my family's house rules, too. I mean, hey, I couldn't just take my home for granted and be irresponsible."

"Huh, I can kinda see why they trusted you to let you have the house," Duke commented, ruffling her hair. Then something hit him, "Wait a minute, you said you were 17 when your family moved, right?" She nodded and he asked curiously, "Then how old are you now?"

"Twenty," she answered.

"Twenty?!" they echoed.

"I know, I get this a lot, believe me," Dawn replied, rubbing her knuckles on her shirt, grinning at their surprised responses. Looking at her unfolded fingers, she added, "They say I sure look young for my age."

"You sure do," Wildwing agreed, motioning his hand to her. "You look much younger."

"Yeah, I thought you were 16," Duke confessed.

"I thought you were 15," Mallory added.

"I thought you were 14," Nosedive finished, making Dawn smile.

"Well, guys, when you don't wear make-up and you're short, it can make you look very young," Dawn explained. "Along with eating well and exercising."

"You must diet and exercise really well, then," Mallory guessed, still amazed at her young figure.

"That's right," Dawn nodded proudly with a finger pointing at the ceiling.

Before anything else was said, the door opened and in came Tanya carrying a gauntlet with a puck-shaped device that had a yellow triangle. "I had a feeling you were all in here," Tanya said, "Since Dawn was going to need a room of her own to stay in." To the red-haired human, she announced proudly, handing her the gauntlet, "I'm all done: Your own wrist communicator."

"Wow," Dawn remarked with surprised wide eyes, "That was fast. Thanks, Tanya."

"Sure," she replied as Dawn took the com and strapped it on her right wrist.

"Now I'm officially on the team," Dawn declared, holding up her com.

"Yep, now you are," Wildwing nodded, everyone else holding up their communicators. "Whenever you're in trouble and need help, just give us a call and we'll be there. And if we need you, we'll do the same."

Dawn nodded in understanding and everyone put down their arms... Well, arm and wings as the case was, what with birds.

"Well, is this all there is to see of the Pond or is there more?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Actually, there's one more thing we haven't shown you yet," Wildwing answered, his wing around her shoulder leading the way out of the room. "It's Drake 1."

"Drake 1?" Dawn echoed with a tilted head as everyone walked out of the door.

"Yeah, it's our super computer that gives us alerts of dangers and any unusual disturbances anywhere," Wildwing explained.

"Like ones caused by the Saurians?" Dawn guessed.

"Yep," Wildwing answered.

"And other whacked out villains who want to take over the world, too," Nosedive added with a wave of his hand.

Dawn blinked at that and looked kind of concerned that there other bad guys trying to conquer the world... Then again, there are always those who desire power.

"Of course you guys are always there to stop them, right?" Dawn said hopefully.

"That's right," Wildwing assured, making her sigh with relief.

"It's nice to know Earth's been safe with you guys around," Dawn replied.

"Now there's a human who appreciates us," Nosedive murmured to his teammates behind his brother and Dawn who remembered the young blonde drake saying at breakfast that the people on Earth had been distrusting towards the Ducks and just because they were different and from a different world.

Dawn was kind of saddened, although not completely surprised at that because she had told Canard a long time ago that most humans would treat different things and people harshly.

Along the way, the Ducks were murmuring to Tanya on what they've already learned from Dawn, her being 20 despite her young appearance, her having only one friend who was an adult, and not to mention, her being alone since she was 17 when her family moved, giving her their house.

"Gee, that's quite an interesting story," Tanya commented to the others when they were finished talking. "But hang on, why is it that her family moved in the first place?" she asked curiously.

"Good question," Mallory agreed, looking at Dawn who didn't turn to them, but could hear them clearly and her ears pricked just now at what the girls just said. "We'll have to ask later," Mallory added.

The moment that was said, Dawn felt a twinge of anxiety, but she kept quiet as they walked on, hoping they'd get to Drake 1 soon.

When they were in an elevator that was taking them to the Ready Room to Drake 1, Dawn started to make conversation and leaned against the wall and asked, "Out of curiosity, how was it that you were able to build a headquarters like this? Because I know stadiums don't have basements like this at all."

"We built it from the money we've earned from playing hockey games," Wildwing explained.

"I see," Dawn said.

"Say, Dawn, if you're 20, then you graduated from school, right?" Nosedive asked.

"Yes," Dawn nodded.

"Then do you have a job yourself?" he queried.

"Well, yes," she answered, looking away, "working for Mr. Woodlyn, washing cars. It's hard work, but hey, it puts bread on the table, and thankfully no worms and bird seed."

"Or toyon berries," Duke put in with a grin, making everyone laugh.

"Although, now that I'm out of town, I'm jobless," Dawn noted.

"Maybe we can help you out," Wildwing suggested.

"How's that?" Dawn blinked.

"Don't know yet, but we'll think of something," Wildwing assured. Finally, the reached the Ready Room for Dawn to see with an amazed expression the largest computer she'd ever seen.

"Wow!" Dawn said in awe, coming up to the large device and admired the many keyboards and controls below, "Now this is what I call a super computer."

"Impressed?" Tanya asked. "With Drake 1 linked by a satellite orbiting this planet, it helps us keep tabs on your world all at once. It's also capable of chemical analysis of objects to radar scans for Saurian teleportation energy which is how we know when and where the lizards are causing trouble as well as other criminals."

"Man," Dawn said quietly, still amazed, "and you made this from the tech here on Earth?"

"Yeah, which kind of made it difficult at first," Tanya confessed, rubbing her hand on the back of her neck. "No offense, but the technology in your world is..."

"Lesser than advanced to the stuff you're used to back home?" Dawn finished. "Well, that's okay, but you still managed to make do with what you got, anyway, and that's what I call being resourceful."

Tanya smiled in flattery at her comments and speaking of being resourceful, she recalled something. "Oh, say, you said your Drone ran out of fuel when you were following us in the air, right?"

"Right," Dawn said.

"Exactly, what did you find in the woods you were staying at that got the Drone running again?"

"Anything I could find," she shrugged, listing the stuff with her fingers, "Dirt, leaves and such."

"What about toyon berries?" Nosedive joked.

"Nah, I didn't think my Drone would like those," Dawn answered, making them laugh, "But hey, it was eating better than I did in those woods. However, it took me quite a while, but I managed to feed it 'til its fuel tank was full for me to leave and look for you guys."

"Sounds like you know how to make do yourself," Wildwing observed.

"Well, sometimes, you gotta make use of whatever you have around your new environment," Dawn stated.

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me, about your Drone battle suit...can I take a look at it?" Tanya asked hopefully. "You know, since Dr. Beakin made it..."

Dawn smiled in understanding and nodded. "Sure you can look at it. I need to get something out of there, anyway."

As the Ducks led the way to the hangar, Wildwing asked Dawn, "What do you need from your Drone?"

"My bag that's been with me since I was brought to your world," she answered. "It's got my iPod, my two books, and other stuff that came in that old thing. I'll just pull it out of there and bring it to my room."

The Ducks and Dawn found the hangar for the girl to see her rusty red ride right where she'd left it yesterday. She pressed a button on the chest which opened for her rider to put in her arm and grab her black-and-blue duffle bag.

"Okay, now that I've got my baggage out, have a look," Dawn invited Tanya, motioning her hands to the lifeless Drone.

The excited blonde-haired genius came over the controlled battle armor and climbed up to stick her head in the robot's chest.

"Gotta say, it looks smaller than I remember yesterday," Nosedive remarked, looking at the little space in the chest where the chair and controls were.

"Yeah, but it's just my size, though," Dawn spoke up, motioning her short 20-year-old body.

"And it took you three days to master that thing?" Mallory queried.

"Yeah...I'm sort of adaptable...which is weird considering it took me a long time to get the hang of your dad's military training. But hey, better late than never, I always say."

"And it's a good thing you weren't too late to save us in that factory," Duke put in pointing at her. "We really thought that was it for us there."

"Happy to prove you wrong," Dawn replied with a smile.

"Hey, Dawn, is this radar you used to follow the Aerowing's trail in the sky?" Tanya asked her, spotting a little screen on the left side of the seat.

"That's it," Dawn answered.

"And those control sticks?" Wildwing noted, seeing them from a short distance. "Those help you move the robot?"

"No, those help me use the robot's arms' weapons," Dawn explained, "The things that help me make it walk are the pedals beneath the seat."

"Whoa," Tanya said in awe, "Dr. Beakin thought of everything."

"He sure did," Dawn agreed with a smile. "I call it a gift from a good friend..." Dawn walked up to her ride and touched its rusty metal surface. "Although, I wish I could've been able to keep the outside clean. But hey, in the woods, no soap or sponges or running water for me to rinse it. Not to mention, it wasn't like I could send it to a car wash when I came into town."

"Yeah, 'cause people aren't likely gonna want to clean up a giant alien robot that was once a killing machine," Mallory implied.

"Not to mention, not having enough...or actually, any money to pay them to do it," Dawn added as a joke, making them smile.

"Are you usually this funny?" Wildwing asked.

"On a regular basis," Dawn replied matter of factly with folded arms and a smirk.

"Oh, yeah, we are keepin' this one," Duke declared, ruffling the girl's hair again.

"Yeah, one who can use a Drone to save us from a exploding death trap and tell jokes is worth havin' around," Nosedive agreed.

"Oh, stop," Dawn said with a wave of her hand and a bashful smile. "You're gonna make me blush."

"Say, if your shooting with the Drone's arms is good, what about shooting with your own arms?" Mallory asked curiously, gently squeezing the human's blue-sleeved covered arms.

"It's fairly good as well. Personally, I prefer shooting with my own weapons than with the Drone's," she admitted, "but I still needed that Drone to help me get here unnoticed and to travel easier."

"Yeah, but it's too bad your traveling to Anaheim was delayed because you were running out of fuel," Wildwing added with a regretful look.

"It's okay..." she assured, then having a thoughtful look, "In fact, when I think about it, maybe it's good that we just met yesterday. If I'd come with you to the Pond the first day I got back on Earth, we all would've went to that factory and ended up trapped together..."

"And then you couldn't help us escape like you did," Mallory finished in understanding.

Dawn nodded. "Correct."

"Perhaps fate decided you should meet us a little while longer at the right time," Grin spoke.

"Perhaps it did, Grin," Dawn nodded again. "Perhaps it did." Turning to look at her ride, scratching her head, she said, "Although, I still need to clean this thing up and get it proper fuel."

"We'll provide you with that," Wildwing assured, a hand on her shoulder. Looking at the tall life-less Drone that still looked, even now, menacing, he confessed, "Honestly, it's going to be strange having a Saurian Drone in our headquarters."

"At least this one only does what its rider commands," Dawn comforted. Actually, she understood Wildwing feeling uneasy around her Drone. Sometimes, looking at it scared her, especially when she remembered when a Drone almost killed Roger if Dawn hadn't saved him in time.

"Wow, the controls Dr. Beakin made for your Drone are amazing," Tanya told Dawn, getting out of the robot's chest. "It has everything a person needs to fly and fight with."

"Sure does and speakin' of fighting machines," Dawn said looking at the large white vehicle next to the Aerowing, "What do you call your wheels right here?"

"We call it the Migrator," Wildwing answered, "When we're not patrolling in the sky with the Aerowing, we use the Migrator to help us travel on the ground."

"And," Duke added with a wing around Dawn's shoulder, "when we need to travel on wheels individually, we take bikes called Duckcycles and when we need to fly individually, we take Gliders...givin' we can't use our own wings to get by."

"And when we need to travel on the water, we take a boat called the Duck Foil," Wildwing finished.

"Actually, now that I think about it, we're gonna have to start making an extra seat for the Migrator and Aerowing," Tanya pronounced, "because rides can get very rough with us when we fight and you wouldn't to, you know, get hurt if you're not safely strapped in."

"Not to mention, we're gonna have to make an extra Duckcycle and Glider for you, too," Mallory put in. "So you don't have to depend on us giving you a lift all the time."

"Sounds good to me," Dawn said.

"Say, those are your only clothes, aren't they?" Mallory guessed, pointing at Dawn's blue garments.

"Well, actually, I do have a shirt and pants that I wear when I battle," Dawn explained, looking at her blue-and-black bag on her shoulder. "The only reason I didn't wear them when I came here was because I thought it'd be better if I blended in with the other humans and not look like a person goin' to war. Otherwise, I probably would've attracted unwanted attention."

"Well, you know what," Tanya spoke, coming next to Dawn, tabbing on the human's puck communicator, "since you have fighting clothes with you, then I think we should explain to you how you can suit up from your casual clothes to into your battling clothes."

* * *

After a few minutes of waiting for Dawn to get ready outside her room, the Ducks heard her come out of the door and still in her casualties. "Okay, I just press this button and..." Dawn said, touching a button on her com, her entire body glowing in a glittering golden light. When the light left her body, Dawn was amazed and looked at herself now wearing her fighting clothes: A regular blue-and-white shirt with sleeves but no hood; blue pants and white shoes and her Puck Blaster strapped to a utility belt.

"Nice outfit," Wildwing commented, making Dawn grin bashfully.

"Thanks," Dawn replied, her hands behind her back, looking away in modesty, then looked at her puck com. "Man, your technology is amazing."

"We personally thank you for that," Tanya replied, dipping her head in gratitude, making Dawn dip her head back.

"By any chance, does learning our world's tech confuse you?" Mallory asked curiously.

"Well, truth be told, getting used to your advanced machinery was hard to get used to at first," Dawn admitted, "but, like with my military training, I managed."

"I wish I had your luck," Mallory said dryly, "To work well with machines as well as with my training."

"Yeah, your dad told me your...disregard for them," Dawn agreed carefully, recalling Gen. McMallard telling her of how much his daughter hated working with technology, "At least you can work with weapons."

"Well, she's always a fighting machine herself, so it's natural," Duke complimented, patting Mallory's shoulder, getting a confused look from her at his sudden praise. Then she shook her confusion away and turned to Dawn, saying, "Well, even though it's good you have battling clothes, you might want extra clothes. You and I can go shopping tomorrow to the mall and see what they've got for you."

"Sounds like an idea," Dawn nodded, although truth be told, she really didn't like having to go into town since she always felt shy and didn't like crowds, but she needed new clothes, so she decided to suck it up.

"In the mean time, let's see about getting some furniture in your room," Wildwing suggested.

* * *

For the past few minutes, the Ducks had already helped bring in a table and chair they'd found in the Pond and brought in a blanket and pillow for her and set them on the floor as Dawn insisted.

"You sure you'll be okay sleeping on the floor?" Wildwing checked.

"Hey, like I said, having to sleep with only a jacket and a duffle bag full stuff for a pillow on the hard ground in the forest, sleeping on a smooth floor indoors with a decent comforter and a soft pillow will be just fine," Dawn reassured.

"Well, as long as it doesn't bother you," Wildwing announced with a shrug, "but we will try to get a mattress in here."

"Much obliged," Dawn grinned, then bent down to unzip her duffle bag to pull out her stuff.

"What do you have in there again?" Nosedive asked curiously, peering over Dawn's shoulder to look inside the bag.

"Well, my hairbrush," Dawn answered, pulling out an old looking brush that still had some of her red hair on it.

Mallory and Tanya looked with raised eyebrows at the hairy thing in Dawn's hand and Mallory asked, "Didn't you say you've had that thing for over a year when you came to our world?"

"Yes, and it is...kinda worn out," Dawn answered, looking at matted and somewhat unattractive brush.

"Then how's about a new one?" Tanya suggested.

"Well, you and I can get one tomorrow when we go shopping," Dawn thought, looking at Mallory who nodded.

"We'll do that," Mallory agreed.

"And I'll dispose of this myself for ya," Tanya offered, holding out an open hand.

"Thanks," Dawn smiled, handing her the brush.

"Sure," Tanya nodded, holding the old brush, murmuring to Mallory, "And I think her hair will appreciate it, too." Mallory nodded quietly at that.

"What else is in here?" Duke asked, his hands on his waist that bent down to see through the darkness of the duffle bag.

"Well, here's my water canteen that I bring when I go camping and need water," Dawn answered, holding up a silver canteen in her hand. Digging through her bag again, she pulled out a small pink glasses case, "My glasses."

"You wear glasses?" Tanya spoke up, interested that someone else in the team wears glasses like she does.

"Yes, but only when I read," she explained, "not that I can't read without them. It's just that if I do, my eyes will hurt and I'll get a headache."

"Oh, so those glasses protect your eyes," Wildwing figured.

"That's right," Dawn nodded, putting the canteen and glasses on the light brown table beside the black chair.

When no one was looking, Nosedive stuck his hand and found two little rectangular devices. "Hey, what are these?" he asked, pulling them out to reveal a pink-and-black phone and another device in purple with hearts and butterflies.

"Nosedive, you shouldn't go through a girl's bag without her permission," Wildwing lectured his little brother, gently taking the devices away from him.

"Hey, I was helpin' her unpack," Nosedive insisted, "Besides, she doesn't have any other clothes in there, anyway."

"Not the point," Wildwing replied in exasperation.

Dawn smiled and opened her hands for her gadgets. "It's okay," Dawn assured. When the things were in her hands, she held them up to explain what they were. "This thing in pink and black stripes is my phone. It didn't work in Puck World because, you know, different universe and planet and all."

"Well, now that you're back on Earth, it's workin' just fine, isn't it?" Duke asked.

"Yes," Dawn answered.

"Well, hang on, if it was working when you got back, why didn't you it to call for help when you were in the woods?" Wildwing wondered.

"Because 1. The phone couldn't pick up any service over there," Dawn answered.

"Oh," Wildwing replied, feeling embarrassed for questioning her like that.

"Plus, honestly, even if it did work, I don't see what good it would've done," she added, "I mean, how would I explain that I was stranded in the wilderness with a robot battle suit that I got from another planet in another universe?"

"She's got a point there," Nosedive agreed.

"And that purple thing?" Duke asked, pointing at the other unknown device.

"Oh, this is my iPod. It has music, pictures I've taken, a calendar, notes that I've written..." Dawn listed.

"You can write notes in there?" Tanya queried, looking at the iPod curiously.

"Yeah, it's a handy little device, you could say," Dawn replied, "This iPod actually entertained everyone on Puck World when you left. The songs and pictures from Earth brought something new and interesting. Of course, this thing had a battery that always needed recharging, but Dr. Beakin as swell enough to make it so the battery could last for a long time."

"Whoa, Dr. Beakin did that?" Tanya asked in amazement.

"Yeah, I was very grateful to him for doin' that," Dawn smiled, thinking about the good doctor back on Puck World, "Improving the iPod and for making the Drone suit."

Tanya noticed the thoughtful look on her smiling face and was happy that she'd made good friends with her favorite teacher who was kind enough to do these things for her.

"Maybe when we have the time, I can show you the iPod's contents," Dawn offered, "I'd love to play my songs and show you my pictures. Then again, after bein' on here on Earth for a year, I guess you've seen enough of its landscapes?"

"We have," Wildwing nodded, "and we gotta tell you, it's a really beautiful world you have."

"Thank you," Dawn replied with a grin, then looked away with a somewhat troubled expression, "Some of us try to make it as nice as possible for everyone as well as plants and animals."

When she said that, Wildwing wondered if she was implying that there were a lot of people trying not so hard to make it nice. Then again, from the bad guys he and his team have been fighting, it was no wonder at all.

"But we'd still like to see your pictures, anyway," Wildwing said, a hand on her shoulder.

Dawn looked at him and nodded with a small smile. Putting down her gadgets on the table, she walked back to her duffle bag. "The only things left in here are these." She pulled out a red and yellow book that was an almanac. "This book here really fascinated everyone on Puck World. It has a lot of fun facts about Earth and stuff."

"Really?" Duke asked, a little interested, opening a hand to ask if he could hold it. Dawn gave it to Duke for him to flip through the pages and he said, "Don't suppose you don't mind showin' this stuff to us, too?"

"Not at all," Dawn said with a shake of her head. "Anything fun you like to know about my world, look in here."

"And what's the other book?" Grin questioned, pointing to the remaining yellow book in Dawn's hand.

"Oh, this?" Dawn said, pulling up the book for her to smile at as if she was thinking of something very good right now. "Actually, this book is what really interested the others on Puck World."

"Is that so?" Wildwing asked, looking at the book in her grasp.

"Yes, you see, this is the..." Dawn began to explain, then jumped when she heard an blaring alarm, hugging the book to her chest.

"That's a Drake 1 alert," Wildwing announced.

"And what an alert," Dawn said quietly, her heart still beating fast in shock.

"It might the Saurians," Wildwing thought seriously to the others who nodded in agreement with solemn looks.

At the sound of the word "Saurians", Dawn's heart rate was back to normal and she and Duke immediately put the books on the table and headed out of the room to make for the Ready Room.

In the elevator, Dawn asked, "Do you really think it's the Saurians?"

"It could very well be," Wildwing answered. Dawn looked at the floor, both a little excited and...kind of nervous. Sure, she kicked their tails yesterday in her Drone, but they didn't see her face through the robot. If they did see her face, how would they react if they recognized her?

Wildwing saw this look on Dawn's face and had a feeling what it was that troubled her. He put a hand on her shoulder and nodded in reassurance. Dawn blinked, then grinned in gratitude, knowing she wouldn't be alone.

When they reached Drake 1, its screen was already on and a red light was shining on a pattern that looked like city streets. Tanya sat down and took the controls and figured out what the situation was. "Bad news: There's no teleportation energy, so it's not the Saurians," she announced sadly to the others who frowned with disappointment.

"Then what's goin' on?" Wildwing asked, a hand on Tanya's seat, his red Masked eyes on the screen.

"Just a bank robbery downtown," Tanya answered as if it was nothing.

"Again?" Nosedive groaned, a hand on his face. "Can't robbers get jobs like regular people?"

"Well, you know what, this may be interesting," Mallory declined, looking at Dawn. "This'll give us a chance to see what you can do without your Drone."

Dawn's eyes lit up with determination and nodded excitedly, "Hey, yeah!" She wanted to show her new team how more helpful she could be.

"Okay, let's rock, Ducks!" Wildwing proclaimed, making Dawn clear her throat and raise an "Excuse me?" eyebrow. "Oh, and Dawn."

Dawn nodded gratefully and went with the others to the Migrator, eager to show her worth to them all.

* * *

In the Migrator, which fascinated Dawn with its unique gear, the Ducks were already out of the Pond and drove downtown to where the bank robbery was held.

Dawn stood between Wildwing and Nosedive at the front, holding on to the corners of their seats since there was no seat in the Migrator for her yet. Hopefully, this robbery wasn't going to shake this commando vehicle too much.

"Okay, Dawn," Wildwing began, getting her attention, "I know you've had tougher situations on Puck World, breaking people out of camps and fighting killer Drones, but these guys have guns with bullets, so don't get cocky."

Dawn nodded in understanding and turned her gaze on the road leading to the bank, the burglar alarm reaching their ears. Wildwing used the Mask look inside the building to see the situation. "I see they made a hole wall in an alley on the other side. They're still bagging stuff so we'll meet them at their only exit."

They drove up to the alley and they could make out the large hole on the bank's wall and they could see their dark van next to it, its trunk opened. The Ducks and Dawn stepped outside the Migrator and waited for the robbers, hiding behind the walls, Dawn with Duke, Mallory, and Nosedive on side and Wildwing, Grin, and Tanya on the other, to make a surprise attack.

Dawn strained her ears to listen for the sound of footsteps coming in the alley and she and the Ducks peeked to see at least five of them in black clothes, throwing in large bags of money in the van.

"Hurry up, you guys," a robber with messy, greasy brown hair urged as they kept loading the truck. "Before the cops show."

"It ain't the cops we should be worryin' about," a second robber with spiky yellow hair denied as he kept going back and forth for the money at the wall.

"Yeah, it's those hockey playin' birds, the Mighty Ducks," a third robber with shoulder length black hair agreed worriedly. "Those guys are usually the first to show."

Wildwing grinned to his teammates to prove the robbers right and they shot Pucks at them.

"Ah, it's them!" cried a bald robber who ducked to the ground along with the last robber with a black moustache who hollered in fear, "We surrender!"

"What?" Mr. Greasy Brown called loudly in disbelief. "You cowards!"

"Hey, at least they're being wise!" Wildwing called as he and his team kept shooting.

"Yes, you guys could learn from them," Dawn agreed.

Mr. Black Hair narrowed his eyes in confusion and made out Dawn's red hair and her human face. "Say, who's the girl with them?" he asked Mr. Spike.

"Who cares?" Mr. Greasy Brown shouted, hopping in the van, "Get in!"

"No way, man!" Mr. Spike denied, running away with Mr. Black Hair who called out, "You're on your own!"

Mr. Greasy Brown shook his head and groaned in aggravation, then yelled, "Some tough guys you are!" Then he slammed the van's trunk and started to drive away.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Dawn declined, aiming for the van's tires, shooting Pucks that wrecked the wheels, stopping the vehicle in the alley, making Mr. Greasy Brown's airbag push against his face.

"If you wanna stop the car from movin', go for the wheels," Dawn advised with a sly smile.

"Whoa, nice shot, Dawn," Wildwing commented, giving her a thumbs-up.

"Yeah, your arm is as good as you said," Mallory agreed.

Dawn grinned in gratitude and smiled when Duke ruffled her hair. "Not bad, kid," he praised.

"Thanks."

"Okay, Grin, Tanya, Dawn and I will tie up these two and their leader trapped in the van," Wildwing directed, then pointed to Mallory, Duke, and Nosedive, "You guys take your Duckcycles and go after the runners."

They nodded and went inside the Migrator and then Dawn saw them pop out of the back to see them riding on bikes that resembled the front of the Migrator and watched them drive away.

"You think those two have gone far?" Dawn asked as they walked up to take care of the three robbers.

"Don't think so and with the Duckcycles, they won't get any farther," Wildwing doubted, "The reason why I asked you to stay and help us here is because we don't have a helmet for you to wear and riding a bike without a helmet is not a good idea."

"Kinda like riding riding in a vehicle with no seat belt," Tanya pointed out with a raised finger, "which thankfully you didn't need today, but still require in the near future."

"Speaking of riding with no seat belt," Grin said, pulling the driver's door off and brought out Mr. Greasy Brown by his shirt. "Don't you know you should be strapped in when you drive?" Grin lectured him.

"Hey, if he doesn't know not to take money and violate people's property," Dawn said pointing with her thumb to the hole in the bank's wall with the bag of money sitting there, "why should this be a surprise?"

"That's true," Wildwing agreed, making her smile.

Grin and Tanya were already tying up Mr. Greasy Brown and Wildwing and Dawn came up to Mr. Baldy and Mr. Hairy Lips with ropes in their hands.

"Gotta say, boys, out of the five of you, you two seem to be the smartest, not putting up a fight," Dawn commented as she tied up the bald robber who looked at her in confusion.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm the Ducks' new teammate," Dawn answered proudly, making the two robbers blink in shock.

"But you're not a duck," Mr. Hairy Lips said.

Dawn looked at Wildwing and told him bluntly with a nod, "My point exactly, they are the smartest of the five," making Wildwing laugh.

"Where'd you guys find a human teammate?" Mr. Baldy asked Wildwing.

"Why do you have a human teammate is a better question," Mr. Hairy lips corrected.

"Sorry, guys, but that's classified information," Wildwing answered, winking at Dawn who smiled in appreciation to his promise to keep her background a secret, especially to bad guys.

"Speakin' of teammates, I wonder how Mallory, Duke, and Nosedive are fairing looking for the other two?" Dawn thought aloud, looking back in the direction she saw them leave.

* * *

The two robbers were running like crazy to get away from the scene in the alley and they looked over their shoulders to see if they were being followed and to their horror, they saw Duke, Mallory, and Nosedive pursuing them on their Duckcycles.

"Run faster!" Mr. Spike cried fearfully.

"What, you think I'd wanna run slower?" Mr. Black Hair remarked.

"If you wanna keep bad guys from runnin'," Duke said, mimicking Dawn's method, pointing his gauntlet at the crooks, shooting bolo ropes around their legs that made them fall down, "go for their feet."

"Nice shot, L'Orange," Mallory commented, pulling up next to Duke.

Duke looked at Mallory in surprise that for once, he actually impressed her. "Yeah, well, hey, these two rookies ain't what you'd call a challenge," Duke said simply.

The three Ducks pulled up to the felled robbers who were quivering with fear, their hands over their heads. "Please don't hurt us," Mr. Spike pleaded.

"Relax, Spike, we ain't gonna do anything physical with ya," Duke assured, "Not even worth it, anyway. Although, I'm guessin' you guys are new at this, right?"

"How could you tell?" Mr. Black Hair asked, opening an eye to the gray haired Duck.

"I just can," Duke answered, not even going to explain his experience as an outlaw.

"Could you tell us why a girl's with you?" Mr. Black hair queried, "Not this red-head or the blonde, the other red-head with no beak?"

"Yes, the human girl to be exact?" Mr. Spike clarified, looking up at the Ducks.

"Call her a gift from Heaven," Nosedive replied, earning confused raised eyebrows from Duke and Mallory.

Mallory shook her confusion away and turned to the robbers. "And you guys are a gift for Anaheim jail."

* * *

Wildwing, Tanya, Grin, and Dawn were still waiting in the alley with the three robbers who were tied to each other until they saw Mallory, Nosedive, and Duke pull up, dragging the other two robbers who were also tied up.

"Well, glad to see you were successful," Wildwing said to his returning teammates.

"No sweat," Duke replied, getting up from his Cycle. "Kinda used Dawn's idea here makin' them stop running by goin' for their feet," he explained, ruffling the girl's hair again.

"Glad that worked for ya," Dawn said, smoothening her hair.

"Sorry this job wasn't much of a challenge," Mallory apologized, getting up from her ride.

"That's okay," Dawn replied with a wave of her hand. "It's not like I wanted to deal with bullets, anyway, and at least no one got hurt."

"Can't go wrong there," Wildwing agreed, a hand on her shoulder, making her smile.

The black haired robber looked at Dawn whose attention was caught by his staring. "And just what are _you _looking at?" she asked him calmly, her hands on her hips.

"Huh, this close up, you are a gift from Heaven," Mr. Black Hair said, making Dawn feel taken aback.

"Excuse me?" she said with a raised eyebrow, feeling a bit disgusted.

Nosedive turned around and winced when the robber repeated his words to her, but said nothing to explain.

Duke put his wing in front of Dawn in a sort of protecting manner and told the black-haired robber in a warning tone, "Uh, trust me, bub, you ain't her type."

Dawn blinked at this action of his and smiled in flattery, patting his shoulder in gratitude. "He's right," she said to the tied up robber. "I only like good boys who don't go around taking money and damaging walls and whatnot."

"In other words, she's too good for you," Mallory put in simply.

Just then, they heard sirens and turned to see a police car pulling up to the scene of the crime.

"Oh, look who's on time for a crime as usual," Nosedive announced sarcastically.

"The cops always show up right after you stop criminals?" Dawn queried.

"Yep..." Wildwing answered, then added in a whisper, "...and at first, they didn't like it very much."

"By 'they', he means the police captain," Duke murmured dryly. Before Dawn could ask any more questions, the police door opened and out came a man who was almost as Dawn's height and had short orange hair and was wearing a brown coat. He looked sort of grumpy.

"Oh, don't tell me you guys took care of things already?" the guy said, almost whining with disappointment when he saw the robbers caught and tied up. "Can't you guys ever wait and share the fun with us police officers for a change?"

"If we'd done that, Captain Klegghorn, they would've gotten away," Wildwing told the officer.

"Besides, these guys would've been too easy for your taste," Duke pointed out. "Two gave up the first minute we showed, two tried to make a run for it on foot, and one failed escape in his van thanks to our new teammate here who shot at their tires," he explained, his wing around Dawn's shoulder.

"Well, I guess that would've been too easy for my liking," the captain started to agree, then stopped and looked at Dawn with wide eyes. "Did you say 'teammate'?"

"Yeah," Wildwing said, his wing around Dawn's other shoulder, "Captain, meet Dawn. Dawn, Captain Klegghorn."

"Hi, Captain," Dawn greeted with a wave.

"Uh, hi..." Klegghorn greeted back, waving slowly but still dumbfounded. "Say, forgive me if I'm being personal, but can I ask why she's a human?"

"Because I was born one, sir?" Dawn joked gently, making the Ducks laugh.

"Well, of course," Klegghorn replied, sort of grinning at her sense of humor, "but what I mean to say is: Why do you guys have a human on your team?"

Wildwing was about to answer, but Dawn did it for him. "It's very complicated, captain, and I'm afraid it's not open for discussion for right now, if that's okay."

"Well...okay, if you say so," the captain said, though still had a curious look in his eyes.

"Well, captain, if that's all, then we'll just be off," Wildwing pronounced as everyone got back into the Migrator.

"Yeah, sure," the captain said as he watched them drive away, his hand under his chin in thought. "A human in a team with Ducks...? Yeah, I can tell it must be a very complicated story."

* * *

"Well, that wasn't all that hard," Dawn remarked, standing next to Wildwing and Nosedive as they headed back for the Pond.

"Yeah, and you weren't half bad over there," Wildwing commented.

"Oh, I just stopped the bad guys' van, that's all," Dawn said in modesty.

"Yeah, but those clean shots you made at their tires," Mallory reminded her. "Are your shots usually like that?"

"Most of the time," Dawn answered, "although, I didn't appreciate that black-haired robber's shot at me when he called me a...gift from Heaven."

"Actually, that's Nosedive's doing," Duke explained, motioning his hand to the young blonde Duck who was sitting at the front and winced and looked in Dawn uneasily.

"Well, he and the spiky haired guy asked where you came from and I said you were a gift from Heaven," Nosedive explained, "because you did come from the sky in your Drone, remember?"

"Ah," Dawn understood, "I get it, but I am flattered you'd call me that."

"What about when that robber called you that?" Wildwing questioned.

"Well, Nosedive called me that because you're all happy that someone came to save you guys," Dawn answered, patting the younger Flashblade's shoulder. "The robber? He called me that for wrong reasons. But what I'm curious about is your history with Captain Klegghorn. Did he have issues with you guys when you first came here to fight crime?"

"Only a lot," Duke answered straight forwardly. "Apparently, he thought vigilantes like us have no business doin' the cops' job and sometimes thought we'd cause trouble."

"Oh, I see," Dawn said sadly, "...but he didn't seem to act like that a minute ago."

"No, after a while, he finally realized we're the good guys," Wildwing finished.

"Well, better late than never, I always say," Dawn pronounced, "Besides, someone's gotta be there to give innocent folks a hand when the cops aren't near."

"Are there more humans like you out there who are this understanding?" Nosedive queried.

Dawn smirked and shrugged. "Not that I know of, I'm afraid. I suppose Mr. Woodlyn would like you guys. Oh, yeah, that reminds me! I haven't called Mr. Woodlyn yet. Now that my phone's workin', I'll have to give him an ear."

"I'll bet he'll be relieved that you're okay, after all this time, huh?" Duke thought aloud.

"Yeah, he will," Dawn nodded, sort of itching to get back and call her friend.

"Of course, you used your phone when you came to Anaheim that gave you the service you needed so you could call your relatives, right?" Wildwing assumed, making Dawn almost stiffen. She didn't say anything for a second, but just turned her head to Wildwing and just smiled which he thought it meant "yes".

* * *

The moment they were back on the Pond and parked the Migrator in the hangar, Dawn hopped out of the vehicle and made her way out, calling to the Ducks over her shoulder, "I'm gonna have to talk with you guys later after I make an important phone call. Bye."

"She sure is excited," Mallory remarked after the human left.

"Well, she hasn't spoken to Mr. Woodlyn for a long time," Duke reminded her. "Of course she's excited."

Wildwing nodded, then looked away, thinking that at least Dawn could contact with one friend since she couldn't see Canard...

Grin who looked at the exit Dawn went out of, seemed to be deep in thought, which caught Tanya's attention.

"Something wrong, Grin?" she asked the muscular Duck.

"Nothing, really," Grin assured, "I'm just curious about something. From what we've learned from her today, she lives by herself whose family moved out for some reason when she was seventeen and left the house to her. I just can't help but wonder why they would leave her like that."

"Yeah, that is something to think about," Mallory agreed, her curled index finger under her chin. "I know they'd left her with Mr. Woodlyn to look after her until she was eighteen, but still..."

"Well, at least she had someone to be there for her," Wildwing thought positively, "It's just too bad she only had one friend and no one at her age."

"What about us?" Nosedive suggested. "I mean, she's not the same age as any of us, but there's six of us and the others on Puck World are friends with her, right? So she doe have more than one friend, technically."

"That's true," Wildwing nodded, "Although, it still would've been good for her to have had plenty of human friends in her life."

"Yeah, but she was just shy all of her life, from what she's told us," Mallory put in.

"And yet, after 20 years, she's only made more friends with us Ducks?" Wildwing queried.

"Maybe she feels more peaceful with Ducks than with her own kind?" Grin suggested.

"But why feel friendly towards us?" Tanya asked.

"Well, we could ask her," Duke thought.

Mallory nodded and added, "And we can ask her why her family moved out."

"Yeah," Wildwing agreed, "but for now, we leave her alone to talk to Mr. Woodlyn." Although, Wildwing thought that Dawn seemed to be mysterious to be such a loner and have a home of her own at a young age and only bonding with his people instead of her own besides Mr. Woodlyn...

He wondered what other mysteries she had...then he recalled again the Saurians' need of her long ago, kidnapping her and torturing her to make her lose her memories. Just what was it again that they knew about Dawn that they wanted to hurt her so...?

* * *

Dawn went straight to her bedroom and immediately grabbed her pink and black phone and pressed the speed dial for Mr. Woodlyn, eager to hear him pick up.

"Come on, Mr. Woodlyn, come on," she begged quietly.

Then to stop Dawn's heart beat for a second, she heard a familiar gentle, warm voice. "_Woodlyn's Wilderness Store._"

"Mr. Woodlyn?" she answered, overjoyed to hear her old friend's voice.

"_Who is this?_" the man asked.

"It's me, Dawn, remember?"

"_Dawn?_" he repeated, sounding shocked. "_Dawn, is this really you?_"

"Yes, sir, it's me," she confirmed, tears pricking her eyes.

"_Dawn...I-I can't believe I'm hearing your voice. You were gone for the longest time...I thought you were..._" It sounded quiet to Dawn and she could hear sniffing and she wondered if he was crying. "_I thought you were dead._"

"No, Mr. Woodlyn, I'm perfectly okay," she reassured, tears of joy coming down her face.

"_Well, girl, where on Earth have you been?_"

"I was nowhere on Earth, Mr. Woodlyn," she answered, trying to find the right words... "I was in... Are you sitting down? 'Cause if you're not, you might want to."

"_Okay..._" he replied, "_...all right, I'm sitting down._"

"Good, now please hear me out because I've got a very long and very confusing story for you..."

For the next several minutes, Dawn explained to her beloved friend her mysterious arrival on Puck World, of which she had no memory of, and Canard saving her and her joining the Resistance and getting back on Earth to find the Mighty Ducks.

"I know it all sounds completely far-fetched, but it's true, Mr. Woodlyn," she promised.

It was quiet for a moment and Dawn hoped he believed her. Finally, he said, "_Actually, I do know of alien Ducks on Earth...but I didn't think you were on their planet._"

"With good reason, obviously," she remarked with a grin.

"_And you're really a member of their team now?_"

"Yes, sir," she answered, "I'm staying with them to help them get home to Puck World...so I won't be comin' back for quite a while..."

"_...Well...this is really the most amazing and interesting thing I've ever heard. My own student, a soldier in an alien army, fighting evil... And your mind is made up?_"

"Mm-hmm..."

"_...Then there's nothin' I can do...I just hope those Ducks will be good to ya._"

"They will, and they are," she reassured. "They're wonderful."

"_Sounds like you like'em a lot._"

"I sure do, Mr. Woodlyn, I sure do..."

"_You know, I've been prayin' for you to be all right...and that...you had someone watchin' over you...other than..._"

"Yes, yes, the Ducks from Puck World have been good to me, and my new teammates here will be just as great, I'm sure... Actually, Mr. Woodlyn...for a long time, there are things I haven't told the Mighty Ducks or anyone back at Puck World," she confessed, looking very sad.

"_What's that?_"

"...About my family..."

* * *

**Hey, guys, I hope this chapter was good. If it was boring and not worth the wait, I'm sorry, but I'll try to make it more interesting in the future and I'll try to stop bein' lazy and keep updatin'. If you guys have ideas, please review me. Thanks and God bless.**


	8. Gives Thanks in Grace

**Chapter 7: Give Thanks in Grace**

In the middle of the afternoon, Wildwing was going past the hallway and came across Dawn's bedroom door. He wondered if she was still talking to her friend Mr. Woodlyn.

_Well, she must if she hasn't come out yet_, he assumed.

He started to walk away and then he heard behind him the door opening and he looked to see Dawn walking out looking...rather gloomy.

"Hey, Dawn," Wildwing spoke up, almost making her jump and look at him in surprise. "Oh, sorry to startle ya like that."

"It's okay," she assured with a small smile and a raised hand. She didn't look at him and she seemed to have a troubled look on her face which made him curious.

"...So, you done talking to Mr. Woodlyn about everything that happened to you on Puck World?" he queried.

"Oh, yes, he knows everything. He was quite shocked, of course... But since he's heard of alien Ducks on Earth, he knew I was tellin' the truth of bein' on your world."

"I'm glad he believes you," he motioned, "And he respects your decision to let you help us?"

"He does," she nodded, "He wishes me luck and he's happy that I'm with friends who've been good to me after all this time."

Wildwing smirked from hearing how understanding this Mr. Woodlyn was. Maybe it was another reason why Dawn was close to him. Honestly, though, he still wondered why he was the only friend she had. She said it was because she was shy and if that was true, she must've been painfully shy. And yet she was happy to befriend Ducks like them...

"Oh, and he says 'hi' to all of you all," she added, "and he says thank you for takin' care of me."

Wildwing smiled and nodded. "Well, when you call him again, tell him we said 'hi' back and that he's welcome. Say, if you're not doing anything, you wanna come with me?"

"Where?" she asked, tilting her head.

"To the town so you'll know your way around if you ever decide to go out."

Dawn looked away in silence a minute, not sure. She knew she was going into the city with Mallory to go clothes shopping tomorrow, but she didn't plan on going out today. Then again, she needed to get to know how to get here and there in Anaheim, so she nodded. "Okay, then."

Wildwing led her to the elevator and as they went up, he looked to her, but she didn't seem to notice, although he noticed she looked lost in thought. He wanted to know why, so he decided to break the silence. "Is...everything okay?"

"Why do you ask?" she asked, not moving her head to him.

"You seem like you're spacin' out and you...if I may point out, looked kinda sad when you came out of your room."

Dawn blinked in slight surprise, but was careful not to show it and said, "I...just miss Mr. Woodlyn, that's all...and my family."

"I understand," Wildwing sympathized. "You've been gone a long time, after all, and I'm sure they've missed you, too."

Dawn nodded, still not looking at him.

"At least you can call them now and let them know what happened," he put in positively.

"Yeah..." she replied quietly.

Her expression looked even sadder which made Wildwing wrap his wing around her shoulder in comfort, making her look at him this time.

"It'll be okay," he whispered gently, rubbing her shoulder. He understood her pain of longing for her loved ones and only friend. Everyone in the team did. They've been stuck on her world for a year and they were missing their near and dear people a lot, so they of all people could understand. At least here, she could drop the people she knew a call unlike themselves.

Dawn was quiet for a second, then she put on a smile and patted his hand gratefully. "Yeah..." However...there were still things that he, along with the other Ducks, still did not understand...and things she _never _wants them to understand.

Finally, when they were up, the door opened to reveal some sort of locker room. "Uh...where are we?" Dawn asked, feeling confused.

"Oh, you see, in our locker room in the hockey stadium, we have a secret door that leads us to our underground headquarters," he explained, "We forgot to show you to this place. Here, let me show you the ice rink."

He led Dawn out of the locker room and to the huge ice rink that stretched on longer than the gigantic Aerowing itself and was even wider on top of it. "Welcome to our favorite place of the Pond," he introduced, motioning his hand to the large ice, "where we keep up our edge on hockey."

"All right," she replied, although she'd already seen the ice rink when she came for the Ducks yesterday. Being back here in the cold place gave Dawn a shiver, making her hold her arms.

"You okay?" he asked, noticing her shivering.

"Yes, it's just a bit chilly in here. I'm not used to the cold."

"Well, why don't we step out in the warm sunshine?" he suggested, leading her to the exit where the sun provided Dawn with the gentle warmth she gratefully welcomed.

"Ah, nothing like warm sunny days," Dawn spoke up, spreading her arms as if she was inviting the sun's rays for a hug.

"Then I guess you wouldn't have liked Puck World when it was still freezing cold," Wildwing assumed.

"Probably not," she said, shaking her head. "However, even if the climate isn't all that, at least the people there are."

Wildwing smirked in flattery. She really did like his people a lot. Actually, it meant a lot to him and the others that there was a human who was this accepting to his kind. When they'd first came here, people would scream and run away. However, from what they learned from her, she didn't scream at all. She was shocked, yes, but she was mostly curious and seemed to make easy friends...despite having only one friend of her own kind in her hometown.

"Well, hey, since we're goin' into town, no point in lookin' like I'm lookin' for a fight," Dawn pronounced, pressing a button that made her body glow in gold and she was back into her blue hooded jacket and jeans.

Wildwing nodded in agreement. "Good idea." And he changed into his clothes of a white shirt with yellow on where the shoulders were with a red collar and green pants and white shoes, then took off his Mask, looking less intimidating without it and stuffed it in his pocket. "Shall we?" he asked.

Dawn nodded and followed him to a bunch of different places, like the health clinic, the grocery store, the supermarket, the hospital, the important places to find. Then he took her to an active spot called the Anaheim Mall.

"I'm pretty sure Mallory will take you to go clothes shopping here tomorrow," Wildwing told her, giving her a heads-up information for the next day.

"Huh, I've forgotten how crowded malls were," Dawn remarked, looking at the people going from here to there out of stores. "I mean, back at home, I hardly go into town to places like this. Being shy and all."

"So you rarely go into town?" Wildwing questioned.

"Well, I mostly come to work at Mr. Woodlyn's store and to wash cars. And when I'm not doin' that, I go to buy food and such for myself since I live on my own."

"But as far as fun is concerned...?"

"Well, when I go into Wal-Mart for errands, I look at their book sections and find a novel I like."

"That's it?"

"Well, sometimes, I come into a pet store and take pictures of their animals. I'm sort of a photographer and I like taking pictures of animals. Sometimes, when I'm not taking pictures of animals, I go off into the wilderness and take pictures of the sights there. Sometimes, I take pics of the clouds or of sunsets and sunrises or of the stars and moon at night."

"I see. You good at it, taking pictures?"

"Well, yes," she answered shyly, "at least that's what Mr. Woodlyn keeps sayin'. As a matter of fact, I have those pictures of home in my iPod. Maybe when you all have the time, I can show them to you."

"We'd like that. Actually, of all the things we admire about your world, it's the landscapes," he confessed, looking at the sky above them. "We've never had such green things like grass or trees or colorful fields with flowers. It's a really beautiful place."

Dawn smiled, happy that her world's beauty impresses the Mighty Ducks as well as the others in their world who had seen her pictures from her iPod. "Yes, Earth has its own wonders," she agreed, looking at the blue cloudy sky. "Truth be told, I wish for you guys that your world had this kind of natural beauty. I mean, sure, I know you guys would like ice to play hockey, but to have colors like this world's colors..."

"Actually, Puck World wouldn't look so bad if it had more colors," Wildwing admitted, "but you're right, we still like our ice for hockey. So, other than goin' into town for pictures of animals and lookin' for a book at Wal-Mart where you'd go for errands, you don't go anywhere for fun?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head, "but it doesn't matter much, really. Of course, it's still important for me to know my way around here in Anaheim. This is where the exciting usually happens, right?"

"Oh, yes," he nodded, "and we can't begin to tell you how unusual they are."

"Well, I can't wait to hear those tales," she smiled, "but like I said, if I'm gonna stay here, I might as well learn my way around."

"Good idea," he agreed with a grin, "Save yourself from inconveniences. Say, you wanna look around, or are there other places you'd rather see?"

Dawn thought for a moment. She really wasn't all that up to walking through the mall, but however, there was one place she wanted to see. "Does this town have a park?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure, it does. Come on."

Feeling motivated at this, she followed the white drake out of the mall and to a greener area and walked on its walkway, going past the trees. Dawn looked up to admire the leafy branches that reached close to them and she stretched her hand to touch the leaves with her fingers, feeling the smooth softness.

Wildwing looked to see Dawn smiling as she touched the leaves in her wake and kind of smiled himself. A few minutes ago, she looked depressed about her missing her family and Mr. Woodlyn, but now she was looking more cheerful and it was thanks to this park. It seemed to him, so far, she was a nature lover.

Then they found a clearing and saw a bunch of people, mostly families coming to have picnics and play in the playground and fly kites and skip stones on the pond's surface which sparkled in the sunlight and looked like bright stars when the wind moved the top of the water. The breeze had blown the trees' leaves that floated lightly on the top of kids' heads, making the parents smile and gently flicked the leaves off.

Dawn grinned from ear to ear because, even though she was shy around folks, she still liked to see people happy and having peaceful and fun days like this, hardly a care in the world. In fact, she'd hoped to help Puck World get back this sort of thing someday soon.

Wildwing looked at this scene, too, and smiled in bliss, remembering the sort of peaceful existence Puck World once had before..._they_ appeared and ruined what should've been forever, a good and free life for everyone. He clenched his fists into balls, also remembering when the Saurians invaded their planet, destroying their homes and forcing his people to work as slaves...

_Once a dream, now turned into a nightmare because of Dragunus_, he thought.

What made the nightmare worse for him was that he'd lost his best friend Canard who'd selflessly and bravely gave himself up to save his team so they could stop the Saurians and free Puck World.

Dawn looked up at Wildwing and stared in concern at the pained expression on his face. She wondered if seeing the people in the park happy was making him remember when his people lost their happiness, making him think of all those hurtful times...

She looked to see his hand wrapped into a fist and took it into both of her hands, making him open his eyes in surprise and look at her with understanding in her eyes. She smiled and gently gripped his feathered four-fingered hand, softly saying, "It'll be okay," using the same words he'd given her at the Pond.

Wildwing just looked at her for a second, then a smile slowly came on his beak and he nodded. Getting upset over losses wasn't going to help Puck World and stop Dragunus and rescue Canard. He looked back at the families, knowing that one day, soon he hoped, his people would get back the happiness they deserved again.

* * *

After a brief walk through the park, Wildwing decided to take Dawn to lunch since it was already noon and Dawn had requested a quick bite at a little burger joint called Jack In The Box. She explained to him it was her usual fast-food place before she came to Puck World, so he agreed to take her there.

Honestly, she wished he wouldn't spend his money on her, not that she didn't appreciated his generosity, she just didn't like to trouble him, but she said nothing and let him order them each a burger and fries, though oddly, she'd asked for taco sauce.

When they sat down, Wildwing was starting to unwrap his burger and looked up to see Dawn with her head bent, her eyes closed, and her hands wrapped together. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was doing. After a moment of silence, she opened her eyes and unwrapped her fingers and started touching her food.

"Uh...could I ask what you were doing?" Wildwing queried.

Dawn looked at him, then looked down with a smirk which made him more curious. "I was saying grace," she answered.

"Saying grace?" he echoed, his head tilted.

"Yes, it's something I normally do before I eat," she explained, "I forgot to do it this morning, though, at breakfast, but I'm glad I remembered now. You see...I like to give thanks for having enough food to eat, clothes to wear, and other things I need and to think about the poor souls out there who don't and hope that they'll have what they need to make life bearable."

"Okay," he replied, still confused, "but, even though I can understand a person being grateful to have enough things to live on, I still don't understand why you would close your eyes and hands when you do it."

"You see," Dawn started to say, grinning from ear to ear, "there's Someone I say grace to and I ask Him to bless unfortunate souls to have the things they need."

This was getting weirder and weirder. What on Earth was she talking about? And whom was she talking about, more importantly, to ask to bless people who have less...?

"Who is this...him...?" Wildwing asked, feeling very curious.

"Oh, you'll find out..." she promised with a smile... "but I'd prefer if I explained with the others present as well when we get back to the Pond. For now, let's just enjoy this meal."

Wildwing, though still wanted to learn more about this "him", decided to just wait until they returned to the Pond and eat his food before it got cold. As they dug in, Dawn took out her taco sauce and started to spread one pouch on her fries. Wildwing looked and his eyebrow was raised to its highest as he looked at what she was doing.

"Uh, what are you doing now?" he asked.

"What, I can't enjoy my fries with taco sauce instead of ketchup?" she shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"I'm not saying that," he said carefully, "I just don't understand why you would enjoy that."

"Well, it gives the fries a spice. Hey, we all have different tastes, you know. Maybe you should try?" she suggested, pulling out one of her taco sauce pouches. Wildwing just looked at her, not sure if he wanted to. "Come on, don't hate it 'til you try it," she insisted, "Just take one fry and I'll only give ya drop of the sauce."

Wildwing was still weirded out by this, but he gave in and took a fry and let her squirt a drop on it and gave it a taste test. "Hmm..."

"Not as bad as you thought it would?" she queried.

"No..." he answered. "Actually, it does taste interesting with the fries."

"Aha, see? Don't hate somethin' 'til you try it," she repeated triumphantly, then gave him two unsealed taco sauces of his own. "You can have these if you want, I have enough for my own fries here."

"Okay, thanks," he said, taking the sauces she offered and spread them on his fries. She smiled, happy he got him to like something new, even if it was unusual and started eating.

As they ate in silence, Wildwing kept wondering about this person Dawn was talking about, the one she'd say grace to... How does saying grace to this mysterious him help people in times of need?

_She knows how to make things interesting, I'll say that much_, he commented.

Actually, there were a lot of things he wanted to know about her. Who she is, where she's from, what other abilities she has, and who her family is...and, now that he remembered, he and the others also wanted to know why her family would just up and move, leaving Dawn behind giving her the house.

He thought of the question to ask her and cleared his throat to get her attention, "Say, Dawn?"

"Hmm?" she replied, looking up at him.

"I was wondering... Well, actually, all of us want to know something."

"What's that?"

"Why did your family move away?"

Dawn was quiet for a split second, then answered casually, "Because they had to."

"Why did they have to?" he persisted.

"...Let's just say...there was nothing to make them staying," she said, looking away, then resumed to her meal.

Wildwing tilted his head, wondering what that meant, but it seemed to him she wasn't going to give any more details, so he decided to drop it...for now. He just hoped she'd give as many details about this "him" she was talking about.

When they were done, they headed out of the restaurant and started to make their way back to the Pond.

"Say, Wildwing," Dawn spoke.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to thank you as well for the meal," she began, looking away shyly with her hands behind her, "and for taking me for a stroll to show me around town."

Wildwing grinned and nodded. "You're welcome..." Putting a hand on her shoulder making her look up at him, he added sincerely, "and on behalf of the others, I want to thank you as well."

"For what?"

"Well, it's thanks to you we're alive. I mean, we actually lost hope when we were trapped in that factory...thinking that after a long year of being on Earth, we'd never get the Dimensional Portal and go back to Puck World... But then, you came and changed things around... Not to mention, you gave us news of how everyone was doing on Puck World. It really meant a lot to us that they're beginning to feel better since we left...when you came out of hiding to lend a hand."

Dawn gave a warm smile and gently gripped his hand. "Well, you're all very welcome... I mean...three special Ducks have been good to me when I came to Puck World and you guys need and deserve all the help you can get... I mean, no one should lose their home...especially to a monster."

Wildwing blinked in gratitude at this person who cared so much for his people...and helped to take good care of them, too. Taking her hand, he started to lead her to the Pond. "Come on, let's get back to the others," he said calmly.

Dawn nodded and started to follow and when she remembered what she wanted to tell him and his team about, she suddenly felt eager to get back because she wanted to tell them what she'd taught their people on Puck World...the teachings that have put new strengths in their souls.

Wildwing noticed her motivation and wondered why she looked like she was in a hurry to get back. "Is something special putting a spring in your step?" he queried.

"As a matter of fact, there is," she answered a big smile on her face, "and you'll all find out soon enough, I assure you." Wildwing wanted to ask what, but he figured that she was someone who didn't like to spoil surprises, so he decided to be patient until she was ready, although Dawn was feeling almost too impatient to tell the Mighty Ducks everything.

* * *

**[Hey, guys, I'm sorry if this chapter isn't all that exciting and interesting, but I'll try to do better in the next chapter. I hope you'll stick with me all the way. Thank you and God bless. And please, if you have suggestions, review me. Peace]**


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